Magic
by ElsaLuver
Summary: You're right, Varian. Being powerful is an extraordinary gift, but unfortunately, not everyone sees it because they let fear get in the way. Magic is feared by many therefore the emperor is doing everything he can to prove them wrong. I know that three cousins will find their destinies to help change the world for good.
1. Chapter 1: The Cousins

**Author's Note: I had this story planned since September 2015 and recently, I decided to post it on here. I had to make some changes because of Tangled: The Series and Frozen II and I rewrote this chapter three times until I finally thought of a decent start for my story. I only own my OCS and I do not own any Disney characters; they belong to Disney. This story takes place after Tangled, Tangled Ever After, Tangled: The Series, Frozen, Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Frozen Fever, and will eventually take place after Frozen II.**

**Spoiler Warning: There will be some spoilers from Frozen II and Tangled: The Series and there are some minor ones in this chapter.**

* * *

On this August day, high up in the sky, sunlight shone through the clouds, reflecting from the deep blue, crystal waters amid tall mountains. Nobody could deny that Arendelle was beautiful and furthermore, peaceful.

Elsa and Anna were seated back to back on a stool next to a window with long drapes while Rapunzel stood behind an easel across from them with a paint tray lying flat on her left palm and Pascal sitting on her shoulder. Poised and graceful, Elsa stood tall with her hands folded on her lap and her French braid was over her right shoulder while Anna slouched with her arms crossed.

"Are you almost done, Rapunzel?" whined Anna, struggling to hold still in her seat. Since she was a child, she had never liked posing for portraits and there was nothing else she wanted except to leave, but her cousin was there, and she couldn't be rude. "I can't stay still any longer!"

"Be patient, Anna," Elsa giggled, holding still. Her day had been packed, organizing everything, signing over some documents, and, though she hadn't gotten a single minute to spend with her older cousin and younger sister until now, the day hadn't been unusually busy, her duties as a queen always on her shoulders. "You can sit still for a few more minutes. We're lucky that Rapunzel came to see us. She doesn't come here very often."

Rapunzel smiled as she dipped a brush into red paint. "Don't worry, Anna," she said with glee. She hummed happily as she painted another stroke, listening and relaxing with her cousins. "I'll be finished after I paint. It shouldn't take me very long. I even painted an entire wall in one day. I didn't have many things to do while I was alone, so I kept myself busy with many hobbies and painting became one of them. I was locked away in a tower for most of my life."

"I had nothing before the gates finally opened," said Anna.

"At least you weren't isolated in your own room for most of your childhood," Elsa said as her smile faded away, a slightly bitter tone in her voice.

Right when Rapunzel had finished the portrait, the door flew open, and Olaf raced into the room with his tiny twig arms waving around in excitement and happiness, and he greeted them with a characteristically happy smile. "Hi, there!"

Anna, Elsa, and Rapunzel all turned their attention to the snowman and said: "Hey, Olaf!"

"Where _were_ you?" asked Anna. "You've been gone for a while."

"I came from the courtyard," Olaf said, approaching Rapunzel's easel. "I was hanging out with Kristoff, Sven, Maximus, and—is his name Flynn or Eugene?"

"Eugene," Rapunzel confirmed, petting Pascal. Olaf always was confused about what to call her husband. "Flynn Ryder was his alias in his thieving days."

"Oh, okay," Olaf nodded. He came closer to the easel and peeked at Rapunzel's painting. Pascal raised an eyebrow at him. "I was bored so I decided to join you. What are you doing?"

"I just finished painting a portrait of Elsa and Anna," Rapunzel answered. She smiled at Pascal and she gestured for Elsa, Anna, and Olaf to see her newest creation. "Take a look!"

Anna, Elsa, and Olaf gaped at Rapunzel's masterpiece. She had captured every single detail about her cousins and it looked as if it had been done by a professional artist. Years of practice had really mastered her talent.

"This is impressive," Anna said, amazed. "I can't even paint a tree. Forget a tree, I cannot even paint the sky."

"You are very talented, Rapunzel," Elsa said. "You have a gift."

"So, do you, Elsa," Rapunzel said. It was true that Elsa did have a gift. "Your gift is wonderful."

"I don't know," said Elsa, a slightly sad edge to her words. "It disrupts things and can be dangerous."

Anna cupped her older sister's face and smiled. "Anything can be dangerous and disruptive but that doesn't mean it should stop us from enjoying what makes us special."

"My gift is still dangerous," Elsa spoke. She gently turned her head away. "My powers are a disaster."

"Don't say that," Olaf said. "You made me with your powers."

"That's right." Elsa smiled weakly. "I just wonder if there are others who are magical like me."

"I used to have magic hair that glowed when I sang," Rapunzel said. Elsa's powers always reminded her of her magical golden hair. "And I'm your cousin."

"I'm sure there is someone out there who is very much like you," assured Anna. She had always done everything she could to make Elsa feel good about herself, believing that she was not the only one with powers. "I guarantee that there are others who are very magical. Remember that story Father and Mother told us about the enchanted forest?"

Elsa nodded and gave Anna a weak smile, but Rapunzel suddenly became interested in this story. She didn't know much about Arendelle but it didn't stop her from becoming curious about her cousins' home. Pascal knew that something was on her mind and gestured for her to ask Elsa and Anna.

"What is this enchanted forest?" asked Rapunzel. "And what story did Uncle Agnarr and Aunt Iduna tell you?"

"Oh, my," said Elsa. She started to come towards a bookshelf. "It's been so long."

After she pulled out an old brown leather book, she came back over to Anna, Rapunzel, and Olaf and placed the book down on the table. The title was 'The History of Arendelle'. Elsa opened up the cover and her fingers scrolled through the pages until she found the right page.

There was a beautiful illustration of a large, ancient forest guarded by four menhirs. Rapunzel and Olaf stared down at it in awe.

"This is the enchanted forest? It's beautiful," Rapunzel whispered. She noticed the menhirs and placed her fingers on them. "What are those standing stones?"

Elsa and Anna explained to Rapunzel and Olaf about the spirits; earth, air, water, and fire and the Northuldra, a peaceful tribe that lived in the forest and connected to the spirits.

"They sound lovely," Rapunzel smiled. "I have an idea! Why don't we get Eugene, Kristoff, Sven, and Maximus and visit the forest?"

"We can't," Anna answered.

"Why not?"

Elsa peered down at the page. "One day, after our grandfather, King Runeard gifted Northuldra a dam to strengthen their waters—"

"What's a dam?" Olaf interrupted.

"It's a wall that holds back water," explained Anna. "It's like what beavers use for their homes."

"Oh, I get it," said Olaf. "That must've been what Kristoff meant when he said that he couldn't get the damn door open."

Anna and Rapunzel giggled. Pascal smirked, but Elsa stood there with her eyes widened. "That's not what he was talking about and you don't talk like that," she said sternly.

"Why? What did I do?" asked Olaf.

"We'll talk about it later," Elsa said. "Anyway, one day our father came with our grandfather to the forest to celebrate the treaty. Then, out of nowhere, Arendelle and Northuldra turned against each other and battled in a brutal fight resulting in our grandfather's death. It enraged the spirits and they turned their magic against everyone. Someone saved our father and got him out of the forest. Afterward, the spirits disappeared and a powerful mist covered the forest, blocking everyone out and locking anyone in."

Rapunzel, Olaf, and Pascal had their eyes opened and their jaws dropped at quite a story that they had just been told.

"Who saved Uncle Agnarr?" asked Rapunzel. "Surely, he told you about that person who saved him."

"We don't know," answered Anna. "Father never found out who it was. He said that he became king when he escaped the forest. Eventually, he met our mother, became friends, and she became his queen."

"I'm sure whoever saved him was a wonderful person," said Rapunzel. She suddenly remembered something that had been on her mind for a while. It was something that she hadn't asked her mother about. "Elsa, Anna, did Aunt Iduna ever tell you about her past?"

"No," said Elsa, closing the book. "Just that she and Father met each other as children."

"That's all she told us," said Anna. "Did Aunt Arianna and Aunt Willow tell you about her?"

"They told me a lot about her," Rapunzel answered. She ran the back of her right hand through her short brown hair. "They just never told me about where they originally were from before the three of them moved to Arendelle."

Anna and Elsa's mother Iduna was the younger sister of Rapunzel's mother Arianna and their Aunt Willow. She and Agnarr were invited to Rapunzel's wedding but they couldn't come because they had to go on a major trip and they ended up getting killed in a shipwreck. Arianna and Willow knew where they'd been going but Rapunzel didn't.

"She never told us where she and our aunts were from either," said Elsa. A small series of knocks pounded on the door and Elsa gave permission for the knocker to enter the room. The door opened and Kai peaked in the room.

"Your Majesty," Kai addressed. "Baron Rupert of Belliville has arrived in the courtyard and asked for your presence."

As Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel followed Kai down the hall with Olaf strolling behind them, they could hear arguing from outside the castle walls and it appeared to be the voices of Kristoff, Eugene, and a stranger.

"So where did you meet him, Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Rupert was at my coronation with his wife, Evelyn," Elsa explained. "They are baron and baroness of Belliville."

"Belliville!" Rapunzel exclaimed."I am familiar with that country!"

"Have you and Eugene been there before?" asked Elsa with her hands folded in front of her.

"No," Rapunzel answered. "But Aunt Willow talked about her adventures there many times. She said that it was a beautiful country."

"What is a baron?" asked Olaf, hopping excitingly. "Is he a royal too?"

"He's a noble," Elsa explained.

"What's that?" asked Olaf. Rapunzel glanced at the little snowman, smiling unconsciously at his childlike questions and curiosity. It amazed her that Elsa created something, or rather someone, that could talk and think like a human.

"They're not really royalty but they're not always wealthy," Elsa answered.

"I think sometimes they have a title but they're not always wealthy," Anna said. She was never into history, let alone royal titles, except princes from when she was young up until she met Hans.

As Kai opened the main castle doors, Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel saw that there was a middle-aged lord saddled on a horse with a golden banner with an imprint of an owl. He appeared to be in an argument with Eugene and Kristoff while Maximus and Sven were nearby having a staring contest.

"What is this all about?" asked Elsa, surveying the area. She peered over at Sven and Maximus and arched an eyebrow. "And… what are they doing?"

"Look, pal," Kristoff snapped. "I don't know who you think you are but what business do you have against us?"

"Why don't you tell me, sir?" the middle-aged lord snapped.

"What?!"

"Don't 'what' me, boy!" the middle-aged lord snorted.

"What are you doing here in the first place?" Eugene growled out.

"You shouldn't even be here," said the middle-aged lord. "You're still wanted in my country and everyone will recognize you from your wanted posters. I should have you arrested."

"Well, be my guest," said Eugene spreading his arms out in the air. "Go ahead. But I can assure you, it won't work."

"I think we should have him arrested," said Kristoff.

"At least I'm not being a smart aleck," said the middle-aged lord.

Elsa stood tall with grace and poise, looking every bit a queen like the one she was, clearing her throat. The middle-aged lord, Kristoff, and Eugene swung around to the young queen. "Baron Rupert, I didn't expect you to be here."

"Your Majesty," Rupert bowed shortly before shooting an annoyed look at Kristoff and Eugene, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are a commoner and a wanted thief doing here?"

"I am well aware that these two gentlemen are not intruders," said Elsa. "They have a right to be here in the courtyard."

"I apologize for the disturbance, Queen Elsa," Rupert said. "These two intruders seem to be giving me trouble."

"I would say that you are the culprit," said Kristoff.

"You know boy—"

"Well, for your information," Anna snapped. "Kristoff is welcome here! He is my boyfriend!"

Elsa turned to her younger sister. "Anna", she said in a slightly stern tone, that seemed to get the message across, as Anna huffed and crossed her arms but didn't utter a word. _Elsa would take care of it._ She turned back to Rupert. "As I said before, they are not intruders and they are welcome here. If I have to repeat myself again, you will be dismissed and you will neither be welcomed nor entertained."

Rupert shot a sour expression at Kristoff and Eugene before sighing and apologizing. He stood tall and held his head up high. "May we speak inside?"

"We will head to the council chambers," Elsa said.

* * *

"Bullseye!" Anna cheered.

In the library, Anna, Rapunzel, and Maximus cheered at the dart that hit the inner bullseye of the circular target while Kristoff, Eugene, and Sven stood in defeat as Olaf and Pascal tallied up the scores on a piece of paper.

"Maximus, how did you learn how to play like that?," Kristoff asked, doing his voice for Sven. Maximus neighed in joy. The palace horse and the reindeer had always been at odds with each other for some reason, probably because Maximus was strict and Sven was playful. "You are really good."

"You are a good player too, Sven" Kristoff laughed, petting his best friend. "You are just as good as Maximus. They won because they just got really lucky."

"Come on," Rapunzel laughed, crossing her arms. "There's no need to be a sore loser now, Kristoff. We just played better than you."

"I wouldn't be saying anything, Rapunzel." Kristoff grinned. "You know that it's impolite to be a sore winner."

"I thought for being a princess," Eugene smirked, "you would be more mature about it."

Anna giggled as she leaned closer to Rapunzel and Maximus. "Said the two men who acted like children when we were playing charades last night."

The girls along with Maximus, Olaf, Pascal, and even Sven chortled at Kristoff and Eugene. The previous night, they'd been playing charades with Elsa and when it was Olaf's turn, Kristoff and Eugene had gotten into an argument over the answer, both nearly quitting the game after that.

"You know," Eugene grinned. "How about a two out of three?"

Anna suddenly caught sight of the clock, petted Maximus, and headed towards the door. "You go ahead. I am going to check on Elsa to see how her meeting with the baron went."

"I'll go with you," Kristoff said as he sped up to his girlfriend. "You stay here, Sven."

As they wandered through the long hall, they spotted Elsa coming over to them, with Kai walking beside her. Anna smiled at her older sister, hoping that everything went well with her and Rupert. She couldn't be more grateful that she and Elsa became close again after thirteen long and painful years of separation. On the day that Elsa gained control of her powers and thawed the winter in Arendelle, Anna had vowed to support her sister in any way that she could.

"How did it go, Elsa?" Anna asked, cheerfully. "He wasn't a jerk to you like he was to Kristoff and Eugene, now was he?"

"What did he want to see you about?" asked Kristoff.

"Rupert is having a dinner party in Belliville in three days," explained Elsa. "He wants a representative from Arendelle to attend so he invited me to come."

"Where is he anyway?" asked Anna.

"He just left to wait in the courtyard," Elsa answered. "Rupert told me that I can bring two guests with me. I am considering bringing Rapunzel with me because I think that it would be good to have a representative from Corona come since her country has always been associated with magic."

"And who is the other guest you're bringing?" asked Anna. She really wanted to come with Elsa because she was willing to do anything for her and she'd never been to Bellliville before. She loved the idea of going somewhere new.

Elsa peered at Anna, smiling like she was reading her mind. "Anna, would you be honored to come with me?"

"Yes," Anna replied right away. "I'd love to come."

"Where is Rapunzel?" asked Elsa.

"She's in the library with Eugene," Kristoff said.

"Good, we'll go there right now," said Elsa. "We need to leave Arendelle by tonight if we wish to make it there on time. After we see Rapunzel, we need to start packing right away and dress accordingly, Anna."

"Your Majesty," Kai said. "I'll send the royal documents for you. Where are they?"

"Thank you," Elsa said. "They are—wait! Oh no, I forgot!"

Elsa raced into the study with Kristoff and Anna racing behind her. She had forgotten about them all day. She burst through the study.

"Oh no," Elsa groaned, shaking her head.

Ordinarily, Elsa would have everything finished by the end of the day, but this time, piles of royal documents strewn all over the desk, almost reminding her of Anna's room. She was supposed to have them finished before Rapunzel came but Anna convinced her that she had all the time in the world.

"Don't worry about it, Elsa," said Anna. "You can get those all done right before we leave. I can help you."

Although Anna was trying to be helpful to her older sister, as usual, Elsa knew that her sister's statement was quixotic since they would need to leave tonight to get to Belliville for the dinner party on time, and it always took forever for the royal documents to be completed.

"I can't go," Elsa sighed as she fell into a chair. "They're due tomorrow and I must get them done. I'm sorry."

"But Rupert said that they need a representative from Arendelle to go?" said Anna. "You'd be perfect for that."

"I know, but I didn't get this done when I should have," explained Elsa. "I can't get too far behind. I'll have to tell the baron that I will not be able to make it tonight."

Anna was kicking at herself for convincing Elsa to wait another day to get her work done, and now Elsa wouldn't be able to represent Arendelle all thanks to her foolish decisions. Since she'd gotten her older sister into this mess, she should help her. "I'll go for you, Elsa."

Elsa peered up to her little sister. "Are you sure, Anna?"

"Of course." Anna smiled, placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "When you got control of your powers last year, I vowed to help you with your duties as Queen and going to that party in your place would be the right thing to do."

"That is very kind of you, Anna." Elsa smiled. "But who would go with you and Rapunzel in my place?"

"I'll go," Kristoff said, stepping forward.

"Are you sure, Kristoff?" asked Elsa.

"I'd do anything for Anna, and you made me the official ice master of Arendelle," said Kristoff. "I would not be a good boyfriend if I didn't."

Anna cheered and hugged Kristoff. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

* * *

A dart landed right in the inner bullseye, causing everyone to cheer for Rapunzel while Eugene smirked and shook his head.

"I got to hand it to you, Rapunzel," Eugene laughed. "I can see why your team won earlier!"

Rapunzel smirked as she petted Sven. "Years of practice really pays off."

"Can I try?" asked Olaf.

Rapunzel knew that Anna wouldn't mind her teaching Olaf to play darts, but Elsa, on the other hand, might object to the idea. She may not be his mother, but she still created him with her powers and darts could be dangerous if not used correctly.

"I think we should ask Elsa first, Olaf," Rapunzel answered gently. As she helped Pascal remove the darts from the target, she gave her husband a mischievous grin. "So, Eugene, how did that baron know that you were Flynn Ryder?"

Maximus, Pascal, and Sven turned to Eugene and laughed mischievously as Eugene crossed his arms. "Oh, it was a while ago. It was nothing."

"What did you steal?" Rapunzel asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Lance and I stole the baroness' necklace," Eugene said. "We snuck in while they were having some party."

"What?" Rapunzel laughed. "Really? When did you two do that?"

"It was a year before we stole your mother's ring," Eugene chuckled nervously. He still didn't like talking to Rapunzel about when he and his best friend Lance Strongbow stole his mother-in-law's ring all those years ago.

"Who is Lance?" asked Olaf.

"He's my best friend," Eugene said. "You'll love him. You know, maybe I can bring him here next time we visit."

The door opened and Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff entered the room. Olaf hopped over to them. "What did that big bully want?"

"He wanted to arrest me, Olaf," Eugene said. "He still thinks that I am a wanted thief."

"The baron wanted nothing to do with you, Eugene." Kristoff sighed, shaking his head.

"Elsa was invited to a dinner party with two guests but she can't go," Anna explained. "So, I will be going instead and Kristoff is coming with me."

"Who else is going?" asked Rapunzel.

Elsa smiled as she crossed her arms at her older cousin. "You."

"Me?"

"You can represent Corona." Anna smiled. Elsa noticed her father's portrait on the wall and she slowly approached it. "It would be good for your country if you went."

Feeling sad and nostalgic all at once, the young queen peered up at the painting of her late father at his coronation. She couldn't help but remember those days when she would use the library to practice for her coronation, using her father's portrait to help her.

Tears filling her eyes, Elsa remained still as she stared at her beloved father's portrait, wishing that he and her mother were still here with her and Anna. "I miss them."

"I do too, Elsa," Anna said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. Elsa turned and the two sisters wrapped their arms around each other. "They would be very proud of you, Elsa. I know they would. They would be happy that you turned out to be a great queen."

The sisters pulled away from each other, but Elsa held Anna's hand. "They would be proud of you too, Anna. You never stopped believing in me and you were always there to help me. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't even be here."

Anna and Elsa's relationship always touched Rapunzel and made her wish for a sibling. She'd imagine that she would be a great sister and that their relationship would be very similar to her cousins. It was very generous of Anna to go to Rupert's dinner party to represent Arendelle for Elsa but what would Elsa do after she finished her work? She would more likely just be lonely while her sister was away.

"Will you be ready in time, Rapunzel?" asked Anna.

Rapunzel smiled as she laid her arms on the table. "Actually, you and Kristoff go right ahead, Anna. I will stay and keep Elsa company; Eugene will take my place and represent Corona for me."

Eugene spun around to his wife with his eyes wide. "What?! Rapunzel, I can't go there! I got history with—"

"Please do it," said Rapunzel. "For me?"

Eugene sighed. "Alright."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kristoff, Eugene, and Anna stepped into the courtyard, carrying suitcases with Elsa, Rapunzel with Pascal on her shoulder, and Olaf following behind them. Maximus and Sven were across from them in front of Kristoff's sled, giving each other dirty looks because they were going to have to pull the sled together until they got to the fjord. Rupert was standing next to the fountain with his arms crossed.

"Who is coming with you, Your Majesty?" Rupert asked.

"I cannot go so Anna will attend your dinner party instead," Elsa explained. Rupert seemed pleased as he nodded his head in approval. It didn't surprise Elsa. He had never met her little sister. "We considered bringing Rapunzel along to represent Corona but she chose not to come. Anna will be bringing Kristoff and Eugene with her to Belliville." Rupert was about to protest until Elsa pointed a finger at him with a warning glare. "Do not question me, my lord. As Queen, I must do what's right for my country and if you object to this, you can forget about having a representative from Arendelle and Corona at your dinner party."

Rupert bowed to the queen. "As you wish, Queen Elsa." He suddenly noticed Rapunzel standing next to her cousin. "Aren't your parents King Fredric and Queen Arianna?" Rapunzel nodded with a smile as Rupert saddled on to his horse. "I got history with your father. Anyway, I'll be waiting on my ship at the fjord whenever you three are ready. Just don't be late. We need to leave by tonight to get to Belliville."

The baron kicked his horse and they galloped away. After the group said their goodbyes to each other, Kristoff and Anna sat in the front seat of the sled while Eugene sat in the back. Maximus and Sven pulled the sled into the town of Arendelle.

"I'm so excited!" Anna smiled. "I had never been to another country before! I wonder what it'll be like? I just hope it won't be a gloomy country! Eck! I would hate to be—you know on second thought, as long as it's not pouring down rain, I wouldn't mind dancing in mud puddles."

Kristoff chuckled, shaking his head at his girlfriend. "Really? I thought you would try to make a good first impression when you meet the baroness?"

Anna shrugged and shook her head. "She would probably be off somewhere having tea with her husband or her noble friends or whatever." Anna paused and chuckled nervously. "Wait what? What did I say?"

"Just make sure you don't say that in front of the baroness and her friends," Kristoff chuckled. Anna smiled and put her arms behind her back as she laid her feet on the front rail of her boyfriend's sled. "Hey, Anna, don't do that. Just because you brought the new sled for me doesn't mean that you could lay your feet on there."

Eugene leaned forward in his seat. "So, Kristoff, this is your new sled? You know, I got to tell you, I'm jealous. I wish I had something like this. You're lucky that I stopped thieving years ago, I probably would've stolen this thing from under your noses." Kristoff and Anna turned to him with annoyed looks on their faces, causing Eugene to chuckle nervously. "Don't look at me like that. I wouldn't do that now."

"What about Lance?" Kristoff asked as Anna pushed her feet down.

"Now he might," Eugene said. "Is this where you do your ice business?"

"Yes," Kristoff answered. "Sven and I would take trips up the north mountain. Sometimes, we would even be gone for weeks—" He suddenly paused for a minute and placed his head on his temple. "Dammit."

"What happened?" asked Anna.

"I forgot to buy more supplies at Oaken's," Kristoff said. "I was supposed to a few days ago."

"Oh, we have time, Kristoff," Anna "We can stop there really quick. We'll be in and out before you know it."

"It's okay, Anna," Kristoff said. "I can get the supplies when we get back. Besides, we need to get to the fjord by tonight."

"We'll be fine," Anna smiled. "We'll still make it to that party regardless."

"Alright," Kristoff said. "But don't be upset if we don't make it back in time."

Anna smiled and ruffled his hair. "You worry too much. Besides, Baron Rupert wouldn't care if we end up a little late."

"Who is this Oaken anyway?" asked Eugene. "I don't think I ever met him."

* * *

Maximus and Sven came to a halt in front of a small log cabin. Shortly after, Kristoff, Anna, and Eugene came out of the sled and towards the small shop. Anna could feel the soft summer breeze on her face as she looked up at the large blue sky with big white clouds.

"Are you sure about this?" Kristoff asked as they were walking up the steps to a porch.

"Don't worry," said Anna. "It won't take very long."

Eugene peered up at the two signs on the shop, one that said 'WANDERING OAKEN'S TRADING POST' and the other 'SAUNA.' "Yeah, I have definitely never been here before."

The bell rang as Anna opened the door for Kristoff and Eugene, allowing them inside. Shutting the door behind her, Anna's eyes wandered around the small shop while Kristoff focused on getting his supplies and Eugene explored the small shop. By the looks of it, the supplies were recently restocked with summer outfits and supplies including fishing rods all over. In the corner of the shop, Anna noticed a dress that reminded her of the one she'd gotten last year during the great thaw at this same place.

"Hoo-hoo!," Oaken's voice came nearby. Anna turned to see that Oaken was standing behind the counter all cheery. "Oaken's trading post Big Summer blowout! Everything is ten percent off in this department for a limited time."

"Hello, Oaken," said Anna.

"Heading back up the North Mountain again, are you?" asked Oaken.

"No, I just needed to get more supplies," Kristoff said, picking up a piece of rope.

Eugene peered around the place with his hands fist on his waist and whistled. "This is some place you got here. You must make good business."

"We also have a sauna," said Oaken, waving at his family in the sauna.

"Hoo-hoo!" they said to him.

Eugene peered at the sauna and back at Oaken. "I'm not planning on going in there today."

Kristoff placed his rope and ice harvester on the counter, peering around the area for something that was missing. "Where are the carrots?"

"There is only one bag left," said Oaken. "Lately the carrots have been the attention for the supply and demand so I raise it to twenty."

"Seriously?" Kristoff sighed, shaking his head.

"Wow," said Anna. "I never knew people would go nuts over carrots. It's not a cake."

"You know this place really is a rip-off," Eugene laughed. Kristoff and Anna shook their head at Eugene, gesturing for him to stop but he just ignored them and kept going. "I mean who pays twenty for a bag of carrots?"

"What did you say?" said Oaken, upset by Eugene's joke.

"I was only joking," Eugene laughed, shaking his head. But his laugh and smiled faded when Oaken stood up and slowly started to approach him, forcing him to step back. "No really, I was only joking. Come on! Seriously, you can't take a joke?!" Eugene gulped as Oaken came closer to him. "I guess not. I better wait outside."

He raced out the door without looking back at Oaken. The entire room was in complete silence for a moment with Oaken regaining his cheery mood while Anna and Kristoff didn't know what to make about Eugene's joke.

"I'll pay for the carrots," said Anna.

* * *

The next three days went by swiftly in Arendelle. Despite that, Elsa was very busy with her responsibilities as a queen, and Rapunzel kept her company. When Elsa was working on her duties, Rapunzel would spend time either with Gerda or Olaf.

On this afternoon, Elsa had just finished granting audiences and helping them with their problems in the throne room. It was an extremely long day and she was relieved that she was finally done with her duties. Now she could relax and spend time with Rapunzel and Olaf for the rest of the day.

"WAIT!" a voice screamed just as Elsa was about to get up from her throne.

Elsa sat in her throne all graceful with her hands folded on her lap as she watched the last citizen race into the throne room frantic with worry. This had alerted Kai, who immediately shut the door behind him. The man threw himself on the ground in front of the queen.

"Take deep breaths," Elsa consoled. "You are alright."

The citizen calmed down and he bowed to her. "Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you but unfortunately, you may be in danger."

The young queen sat up in her seat, grabbing one of her armrests and leaning her head forward, raising her eyebrows. "What has happened?"

"There have been rumors," the citizen stuttered. "That someone is planning to assassinate you."

Horrified, Elsa nearly fell out of her seat. This had not happened since the Duke of Weselton and Prince Hans' attempts from the year before."Do you have any idea who could try to kill me?"

"I have no idea, Your Majesty," the citizen answered. "I had just heard the rumor recently and I thought that you should know just to be safe."

"Thank you for letting me know," Elsa said, her voice becoming uneven thanks to the news. "You may go."

After the man left the throne room, Elsa slowly stood from her throne, nearly on the verge of fainting while she could barely hear herself breathe as her magic layered over the room with small bits of ice trailing off her fingers. Why would someone try to kill her? Arendelle had been at peace since she had succeeded in attaining control of her powers. It just didn't make any sense to her.

Gerda raced over to the queen and placed her hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

"I don't—I don't know what to think," Elsa stammered. "Why would someone try to _kill_ me? I haven't done anything wrong that I'm aware of."

"Is there anything we could do?" asked Kai.

Elsa took a few more deep breaths and she peered up at Kai and Gerda. "I want you to send for Marcella and then meet me in the library."

* * *

"Where do you want me to stand?" Olaf asked.

Rapunzel gathered her paintbrushes and art supplies as she approached her easel with Pascal helping her. "Uh…in front of that window is fine. Just give me a few minutes, okay, Olaf?"

Olaf stood in front of a large window with purple drapes and posed. Just as Rapunzel was about to draw him, Olaf gasped and ran over to the easel, leaning closer to Rapunzel. "I just got an idea!" he exclaimed excitedly. "When Elsa's finished, we should have her in this portrait too so when Anna comes back, we can give her a portrait of us!"

"That is a very good idea, Olaf," Rapunzel smiled. She laid her hand down for Pascal to crawl on as Olaf jumped up and down. She caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall next to her. She still hadn't seen Elsa since she left for the throne room. She figured that she must have been running late. Pascal chattered to her. "She'll be here soon, Pascal. She's just very busy."

"What is Pascal?" asked Olaf. Pascal turned white as he stared up at Olaf. "And why does he change color?"

"He's a chameleon," Rapunzel laughed. "They change colors to reflect their moods."

"Oh," Olaf said. "I wish that I could change colors. How did you meet Pascal?"

"It was when I was locked away in that tower," Rapunzel explained. She smiled down at Pascal who smiled back at her. "It was really late at night, I found him bitten by a snake on the window still, I used my frying pan to get rid of the snake, and I saved Pascal with my hair. I saw that he was alone so I took him in and we've been together ever since."

"That sounds sweet." Olaf smiled. "What did you two do when you were in the tower?"

"We did many things together. But Pascal's favorite game is hide and seek."

"What's that?" Olaf asked.

"It's a game where you either look for someone," Rapunzel chuckled. "Or you hide and make sure no one finds you."

Olaf smiled. Clearly, he was interested in this game. "Can we play that?"

"Sure," Rapunzel said, placing Pascal on her shoulder. "Do you want me to hide and you'll go look for me or do you want to hide and I'll find you?"

Olaf stood for a long minute, trying to decide on what he wanted to do. "Can you hide and I find you?"

"Sure," Rapunzel nodded.

"What do I do?"

Rapunzel smiled as she slowly came towards the door with her eyes on Olaf. "You stand there, close your eyes, and count to…." She would need plenty of time to hide so she thought of how long Olaf should count. "Twenty!"

"Okay!" Olaf smiled. He turned around but his head was glanced over his shoulder. "One—"

"No peeking, Olaf," Rapunzel chuckled as her hand grabbed the door handle. "Now turn around and start over but this time—" She pulled the door opened, making it wide enough for her to exit the room and pointed a stern finger at the little snowman with a smile on her face. "No peeking and I mean it."

Olaf turned around and covered his eyes with his twig arms. "ONE! TWO!"

As soon as he said three, Rapunzel rushed out of the room and sprinted further into the long hall, snickering with Pascal. She'd already decided that she would hide in the library.

Eventually, Rapunzel grinned as soon as she saw that the library door was standing right in front of her. She grabbed the door handle and just when she was about to open the door, she heard voices from the other side. It seemed to be the voices of Elsa, Gerda, and Kai.

"I wish that I could tell Anna," Elsa said. Rapunzel crouched down and placed her ear close to the door. What did Elsa not tell Anna? Did it have something to do with the baron? Did Elsa forget something?

"She already left so there is nothing that you can do about it," said Gerda. "You'll just have to tell her when she gets back."

"That is exactly what I'll do," said Elsa. "I can't keep another secret from her."

"I don't understand why you can't tell your own country that there might be someone trying to kill you?" asked Kai. Rapunzel gasped and shook her head, not knowing what to think of this. This couldn't be true. Why would someone try to kill her cousin? "Surely they should know."

"Don't you see?" said Elsa. "I don't know who's trying to kill me. It could be anybody. They could even be living in Arendelle. If I let the public know, the person who wants to kill me would know that I know they're after me."

"I understand, Your Majesty," said Gerda. "But are you sure about this?"

"Yes," said Elsa. "This is the only way. Don't worry, Marcella will be here soon. Then I can go to the Northern Isles and find Lord Graham. He was good friends with my father and he will help me."

"FOUND YOU!"

Rapunzel yelled out in surprise with Pascal turning yellow and turned to see that Olaf was standing right in front of her, clapping his hands. She had been so focused on listening to the conversation from the library that she had forgotten that she was playing a game of hide and seek with Olaf.

"Does this mean that I win?" Olaf asked with a smile. His smile faded away when he saw that Rapunzel looked surprised. "What's wrong? I didn't cheat, did I?"

Before Rapunzel could answer, the door flew open behind her. She slowly turned to see Elsa, Kai, and Gerda standing in the doorway. Elsa cleared her throat and gave them permission to come in. Once they came into the room, Kai shut the door behind them.

"What's going on?" asked Olaf. "Am I in trouble?"

Rapunzel knew that she couldn't ignore what she had heard and approached her cousin. "Why would someone want to kill you?"

"You heard," Elsa said calmly, a tinge of sadness in her voice. Rapunzel nodded solemnly. "How much?"

"Pretty much from the part where you said you will tell Anna when she gets back to the part where you said Lord Graham would help you because he was good friends with my Uncle."

Elsa sighed, shaking her head. "You heard a lot."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Rapunzel.

"The last thing I want is for more people to know," said Elsa.

"Elsa," said Rapunzel. "I won't tell anybody if you don't want me to." From the second she heard them talking just outside the door, she had gotten herself involved and there was no way she could ignore this. There must have been something she could do to help her cousin. "I can help you!"

"What?"

"Actually, Olaf, Pascal, and I can help you! We heard your plan and Olaf knows about it now so why not?"

Elsa stared at Rapunzel for a long moment, unsure of how to handle this situation. It was not a surprise that Rapunzel would step up to help her. She always acted a lot like Anna, who would have done the same if she were here instead of on that ship to Belliville. Her cousin, Pascal, and Olaf already knew and they were now involved. "Alright. You can help me."

"Thank you!" said Rapunzel. "Don't worry, Elsa. We won't let you down."

"What are we doing?" asked Olaf.

"This is the plan," Elsa explained. "Lord Graham was friends with my father so he would help me. Marcella is a witch who is a friend of ours. She will get here soon. I will dress like a peasant and then she will disguise herself as me. She will send me to the Northern Isles. There, I will find Lord Graham."

"So what would me, Olaf, and Pascal do?" asked Rapunzel.

"Now that you're involved," said Elsa. "You will act like you have arrived there to look for Lord Graham and I will act as your escort to him."

"Sounds like a plan!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"I have a question," Olaf said. "Why couldn't Marcella get the royal documents done for you a few days ago? You could have ended going to Belliville with Anna."

"She didn't get back to Arendelle until yesterday," Elsa answered.

"Are you sure this will work?" asked Kai.

"I'm sure it will," said Elsa. She wasn't sure about this but all she could do was be confident. That was what Anna would've done. "It just has to work."

* * *

Two hours passed by slowly until it was sometime in the evening. Rapunzel dressed in a long blue sleeveless dress with shoes that matched. She peered at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She didn't need to go in a disguise since she was presenting herself as the princess of Corona. All she would need to do was pretend that Elsa was a peasant and escort her to the lord.

Since the news of the deaths of her uncle and aunt, there was always the lingering thought in Rapunzel's mind about where they'd been going. It had been important enough to miss her wedding. She wanted to ask Anna and Elsa if they had any idea about it, but the thought of upsetting them always held her back. Eugene had suggested that she ask her mother and Aunt Willow, but her aunt was rarely around and she never found the perfect time to ask her mother.

Underneath her, she heard Pascal squeak with a golden flower hairpin in his hands. Rapunzel bent down and gently took the hairpin in her hand. She sat on her knees as she placed the hairpin in her short brown hair, smiling at her reflection. It reminded her of the magical golden hair she used to have. She knew that if it hadn't been for her hair, she would've never known Pascal and Eugene would have been long gone by now.

She laid her hand out, allowing Pascal to crawl on her palm. She gently stood up, still smiling down at her best friend. "Ever since I left that tower, Pascal, my life has begun in the most wonderful way. But I would've been more alone if you never showed up." Pascal smiled up at her with Rapunzel gently patting his head. "Well, are you ready to go back into the library and help Elsa now, Pascal?"

* * *

As soon as Rapunzel entered the library, Olaf wobbled over to her, smiling at her as he gently pulled her further into the room. "Rapunzel! You have got to meet Marcella! We have known her for a year and she's very friendly!"

"Okay, Olaf," Rapunzel chuckled, almost losing her balance. "Where's Elsa?"

"Gerda is helping her with her disguise," Kai replied. "They should be back here soon."

"Good," said a deep voice of a woman. "The sooner they get back, the sooner we can send her to the Northern Isles."

Standing right next to Kai, was a young woman who looked to be thirty, dressed in a green dress. She had blue eyes, fair skin and black hair tied up in a tight bun. This must have been the Marcella that Olaf was talking about. She had a blank expression on her face, making it hard for Rapunzel to tell whether or not she was friendly.

"Nice to meet you, Marcella." Rapunzel smiled, holding out her hand for the witch to shake. "I'm Rapunzel. I'm the cousin of Elsa and Anna."

Rapunzel expected Marcella to shake her hand, but instead she stared down at it and back up at the princess. Pascal peered up to Rapunzel, shrugging. "Yes, I heard a lot about you, Your Highness. Elsa and Anna told me a lot about you."

Rapunzel put her hand down, feeling awkward and thought that it was best to start a conversation while she waited for Elsa. "How did you know my cousins?"

"I met them this Christmas season," Marcella explained. "Actually, I met Olaf first when he was trying to find a family tradition for Anna and Elsa. He got lost in the town and I helped him figure out where he was. I ran into him again when they were celebrating the holidays, and he introduced me to your cousins."

"And I am their family tradition!" Olaf said.

"That is sweet," Rapunzel said. She wished she could ask Olaf if she could hear more about when he was finding a family tradition for her cousins but she knew since they were leaving soon, this wouldn't be a good time. "Marcella, how are you going to cover for Elsa when she is away?"

Marcella snapped her fingers and she morphed into Elsa. Rapunzel's eyes widened at her impressive magic. "Woah. Could you sound like her and do her magic?"

"I can sound like Elsa," Marcella confirmed, her voice sounding exactly like Elsa's beautiful soft voice. She snapped her fingers again and morphed back into her old self. "But I cannot perform her powers."

"So someone would know that Elsa is in a disguise if she performs her magic?" Rapunzel asked.

"If Elsa does magic herself on your trip, people won't know that it's her," Marcella answered. "She is not the only one with ice powers."

The door opened, allowing Gerda to step into the room with Elsa who shut the door behind them right away. The young queen was dressed in an unattractive peasant dress with long sleeves. Instead of being in a French braid, her long hair was down and her bangs had been cut. Her boots were black.

"You look great, Elsa." Rapunzel smiled. It was a bit strange seeing Elsa dress like a commoner because she had gotten used to Elsa using her powers to create her own dresses. She could see Anna dressing up like a peasant, but she could never have imagined Elsa in a dress like that.

"Wait," said Marcella. "You're not finished with your disguise yet, Elsa."

Elsa raised a silent eyebrow in question, turning a curious gaze towards her.

"Let me help," said Marcella. She motioned her hands and cast a small light of magic trailing from her fingertips and threw it at Elsa. Kai, Gerda, Rapunzel, and Olaf stared at her in awe.

"I can't recognize you!" said Olaf.

"That's right." Marcella grinned. "Not even the most observant would know it's you."

Gerda handed Elsa a hand mirror. She was surprised when she glanced at her reflection. Her blond hair and eyebrows were now dark brown and her eyes were now light brown. .

"You look like another person, Elsa," Rapunzel said. "If I wasn't here, I wouldn't even know it was you."

"How long will this last?" asked Elsa.

"I can turn you back to your own self when you return," said Marcella. "But unless I take back the spell, it will last a year before it slowly starts to wear off. Now we'll just send you to the Northern Isles, Elsa."

"They're coming too," said Elsa.

Marcella peered over at Rapunzel, Olaf, and Pascal. For some reason, Rapunzel felt like the young witch didn't seem to like her the same way Monty couldn't stand her back in Corona. "I didn't know you were bringing more people with you."

"They're going to help me," Elsa explained.

"That would explain it then," said Marcella. "However, my dust portal will not be able to take all of you at once. It would be able to take only two of you. The chameleon would fit in regardless."

"What is a dust portal?" asked Rapunzel.

"It is a portal that will take you to another destination," said Elsa. "Marcella, I will jump in first and then Rapunzel, Olaf, and Pascal can jump in the next."

"I suppose that's what we'll do," said Marcella. "Elsa, step over here please."

As Elsa came over to the center of the room, Marcella took a small jar out of her pockets. Curiously, Rapunzel tilted her head at the jar. How very curious, she thought to herself. She immediately wondered what the dust portal would look like.

"Now, this is what you must do," she instructed. "The dust portal moves at a rapid pace so you must act very quickly. When I release it, it will come towards you and you must yell the name of the country you wish to go and jump in. Do you understand?"

Elsa and Rapunzel both nodded at the young witch. Marcella threw the lid off and her fingers reached in. As she took her hand out of the jar, a form of a small white tornado trailed at the end of her fingertips. Right when Marcella threw the dust portal into the air, it grew large, causing the entire room to shake. No one could hear each other over the loud rumbles. With the exception of Elsa, everyone pressed themselves against the wall.

The dust portal whirled around the room a few times before it finally started to charge towards Elsa. With no hesitation, Elsa dashed towards the large dust twister.

"THE NORTHERN ISLES!" she shouted just as she jumped in.

As soon as Elsa disappeared, the dust portal grew smaller and vanished from the room, returning everything to normal. Everyone fell to the floor in disbelief with their hair all out of place and books and any decorations scattered all over the floor. Pascal turned brown and he let out a loud squeak.

"Good heavens," Gerda shouted, rising from the ground. "I did not see that coming! Is everyone alright?"

"Apart from that old beast, yes!" Kai shouted. "Good lord!"

"That was fun!" Olaf shouted.

Rapunzel's jaw was still dropped as she struggled to get her balance back. She was going to be getting into that with Olaf and Pascal?! She didn't know if she could.

"Now it's your turn," said Marcella.

Rapunzel slowly turned to Marcella who was bringing out another jar, knowing that it was now their turn to jump right into that thing. She held Pascal closer to her chest and gestured for Olaf to stay next to her. She gulped as the three of them slowly went into the center of the room. Her heart was beating rapidly as Marcella's hand grabbed the lid of the jar.

"When I count to three, I will release the dust portal," she said. "One. Two. Three!"

She threw the lid off and grabbed a dust portal, throwing it out of the jar the same way she had the previous one. Marcella, Kai, and Gerda again pressed themselves against the wall. Rapunzel and Olaf were almost falling over at the violent earthquake-like movement as they listened to the continuous rumbling. Rapunzel couldn't believe how fast that thing was going, watching it spin around the room. Suddenly she gasped just to see that the dust portal was coming over towards them.

"HOLD ON!" she shouted to Pascal and Olaf. She was unsure if they could hear her because of the loud wind.

Before they could jump in, they screamed as the dust portal pulled them into it's twister. As soon as they disappeared, the dust portal grew smaller and vanished from the room, taking the storm with it. Kai and Gerda slowly backed away from the wall but Marcella raced over to the side of the room with a concerned expression on her face.

"Did they jump in it?" asked Marcella.

"No, it pulled them in," Gerda answered, fixing her hair.

Marcella's face turned white as a ghost as she let out a breath. "They at least said the Northern Isles, didn't they?"

"I don't know," Kai replied.

Marcella placed her hand on her temple. "Well, that's just great," she muttered. "They better have said the Northern Isles."

"What would happen if they didn't?" asked Gerda.

"It would take them to a random destination," Marcella explained. "They could end up in a whole other country and maybe even be hundreds of miles away from here."

"So, they might not be in the Northern Isles with Elsa," Kai asked.

"It's likely," Marcella sighed. Kai and Gerda turned to each other with grave expressions while Marcella threw her arms down and stared out the window.

"I guess we'll have to see what happens."


	2. Chapter 2: An Act of Kindness

In a wide-open field with nothing but a small hill, isolated from a nearby town, the strong, howling wind whooshed loudly as a small white tornado appeared in mid-air. Within seconds, the dust portal grew rapidly in size, creating a large storm. The twister whirled around a few times before Elsa fell out of the tornado and landed on top of the hill. As soon as she hit the ground, she rolled over to avoid spraining her ankles from the impact. Just as she stopped, she lifted her head and through her windblown brown hair, watching as the dust portal spun around one last time before it became smaller and smaller till it disappeared. The strong winds that had accompanied the twister calmed. She glanced around the area, slowly rising from the dirty ground.

At the bottom of the hill, there was a bumpy path surrounded by tall green grass and with a sign that read 'THE NORTHERN ISLES" next to it. In the distance, Elsa could see the faint traces of tall buildings and houses. 'This must be the Northern Isles', she thought to herself. Unlike most queens and princesses, she had never been to another country before. Fortunately, Anna would be arriving in Belliville tonight for the dinner party and, most likely, she would be exploring the country afterward with Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven, especially if Belliville was as beautiful as Arendelle. Hopefully, it would help make up for being locked away in the castle with the gates closed for most of her life. Just like Rapunzel had been able to explore other countries in recent years.

Gazing at the town, Elsa didn't know why she was staring at the foreign land. Was it because of its beauty? Maybe it was because she had never thought that she would be anywhere else besides Arendelle. Whatever it was, it still would never compete with Arendelle. Arendelle would always be part of her heart, and she would do anything to protect her country.

The young queen gazed around the large area for any sign of Rapunzel, Olaf, and Pascal. Had something gone wrong? Or perhaps she was just overreacting. As Elsa searched for them, she noticed the sun setting in the orange sky, and took it as a sign that she shouldn't be outside much longer and had to get to town. She wished that she could write a note to Rapunzel and Olaf, but she knew that it would be impossible; she had nothing to write with and, even if she did, it would be foolish because she could give herself away. It was much more probable and sensible that Rapunzel and Olaf either had arrived in the town and were waiting for her somewhere, or they would arrive here shortly and head to the town. Taking a deep breath, Elsa ambled down the hill and strode on the pebble path to the town.

For an August day, the temperature was colder than usual, but Elsa didn't mind. However, she was disguised as a peasant, and no matter what, she had to proceed with her plan. She remembered that Marcella had told her that others shared her powers, but she still didn't want to take any chances. She peered down at her peasant dress. Although it was unattractive, for some reason, it reminded her of Anna's dress that she'd bought from Oaken's during the great thaw last summer. She wondered briefly if this dress came from the same place.

The buildings grew bigger as Elsa reached the center of the town. There was laundry hanging from one building to another. The town was crowded with the locals bustling around to get everything they needed before all the markets closed for the night. All around, locals were rushing to get in line for supplies, and some were even pushing each other away. Taking a deep breath, Elsa reminded herself for the umpteenth time since she landed that she had to play the part of the peasant she was disguised as. Now that she was in the town square, she was a mere peasant, not the queen she was raised to be.

A market man walked up to Elsa with a loaf of bread in his hand. "Would you like some bread?" he asked with a large smile on his face.

Elsa was tempted to take the bread because she hadn't eaten dinner before she left and didn't know how long it would be before she ate again, but she couldn't because she hadn't brought any money with her as part of her disguise. "I do not have any money with me, sir, but thank you."

As night fell, the streets were starting to clear up, reminding her that she would have to find Rapunzel and Olaf quickly. Her hunger grew the more she walked and she wished that she had bought the bread. Elsa glanced over her right shoulder just in time to see the bread market closing with the citizens rushing past each other.

As Elsa was wandering the market, keeping an eye out for her cousin and friend, she felt someone push into her, and she fell into a puddle. Disgusted, she wanted nothing more than to sigh in disgust, but she knew better due to years of etiquette lessons.

"Oh, dear!" a voice exclaimed from above her. The voice was deep and gruff, and distinctively male. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. Are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere?"

Elsa stood up, brushing the dirt off her drenched dress. "It's alright. I should have been watching where I was going."

"No, it was my fault," said the voice. Elsa peered at the man, who appeared to be in his early forties. He was tall with fair skin, blue eyes, and brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore a blue jacket with a white cravat. He was a commoner. "I was in a hurry to get home to my wife. I should have been more careful. Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"I'm just trying to look for...some friends of mine," sighed Elsa. She was afraid that she could give herself away if she brought up Rapunzel and Olaf especially since the common man might have heard of her before. "I don't know where they could be."

"I'm sure you'll find them soon," he assured. "At least you're not out in the rain or snow looking for them."

"I actually would be fine with the snow." Elsa blushed. She glanced her head over her right shoulder, hoping to spot Rapunzel and Olaf wandering around in the town, looking for her. All she saw were the citizens heading home as the markets closed. "But the rain, on the other hand, I couldn't agree more."

"You sound like my wife," The commoner chuckled. Elsa's eyes widened as she turned her head to him. Did his wife have magical powers too? She was tempted to ask, but she couldn't, so she just smiled, crossing her arms. "Winter is her favourite time of year. She loves the snow and don't even get me started on Christmas. She would spend hours out building a snowman and even snow angels."

"I can relate to that." Elsa smiled. "I reckon that we both have something in common."

"Last Christmas I gave her a jewellery box," said the commoner. "She loved it when she had it."

Elsa's eyebrows raised. "What do you mean 'when she had it'?" she asked.

"It was stolen a few days ago," the commoner explained. "We left our home to see my mother and when we came back, the door was open, and the jewellery box was gone. Someone broke into our home."

"I am very sorry to hear that," said Elsa sincerely. "That is unfortunate."

"It's just one of those things." The commoner sighed. Elsa was just about to bid him farewell and leave when she noticed that he was deep in thought, rubbing his chin, gazing at her with a contemplative gaze. "Maybe you can do me a favour?" He grinned.

"Favour? What sort of favour?"

"While you're waiting for your friends, maybe you can help me find the thief and get my wife's jewellery box back," the commoner suggested.

As much as Elsa wanted to help him, she never trusted strangers and wanted nothing more than to find her cousin and friend, so they can get to Lord Graham and ask for his help. But she couldn't just turn him away after hearing him tell her about the jewellery box. "I am going to need more details, so I can help you. Have you noticed anything unusual since the jewellery box was stolen?"

The man stood there for a moment, apparently trying to recall anything that he could remember. She patiently waited until he finally spoke. "I did notice something strange," he answered. "Lately, a man with a torn, dark brown, leather jacket has been wandering around the market selling some things. Strangely, at eight o'clock, he would always head towards an alley."

"Other than the jacket, what did he look like?" Elsa questioned. "And why are you suggesting that he might be the thief?"

"I never caught a glimpse of his face," the commoner admitted, reaching into one of his pockets. He pulled out a ripped piece of dark brown leather. "When we arrived home, the door was unlocked. We rushed into our house to find this caught in our bedroom doorway. My wife and I knew something was wrong because we always leave our bedroom door closed throughout the day. We came into our room to find nothing, but an opened window and the jewellery box was gone."

Elsa felt like the whole story came out of one of the many books that she had read. She had always been a bookworm, refusing to go to bed without a book and never spent a day without reading. "Why haven't you reported this to the authorities?"

"I reported this to them right away before I saw the man in the market," he responded. "They said that this could have belonged to anyone and I would need to find enough proof before I can accuse anyone. Otherwise, it would be considered just a coincidence. I don't know anything about the man, and I don't have any proof that he might've stolen the jewellery box."

"Hand me the fabric. I'll see what I can do." Elsa nodded. The commoner gave her the fabric, as Elsa surveyed the area, again looking for Rapunzel and Olaf. The streets were nearly clear and there was a large clock in the middle of the market. She saw that it was almost seven and peered back to the commoner. "Where is the alleyway?"

The commoner pointed over to the clock. "Right across from that clock. You can see the alley from there."

The commoner expressed his gratitude to Elsa shortly before he left, and she strolled over to the clock. Again, she peered around for any sign of Rapunzel and Olaf to no avail. It was astounding that in mere minutes, the town square had gone from a teeming marketplace to a desolate ghost town. Elsa laid her head against the clock as she sat down on the ground, waiting for the thief to potentially arrive in the alleyway across from her.

After a long and slow hour, Elsa felt like dozing off as she waited, still seeing no sign of the thief nor Rapunzel and Olaf. She wished that she had found a place to stay, but she was unsure if there was an inn nearby and regardless, she had to carry on with her plan. Elsa gazed out into the alley, keeping an eye out for the thief, for he could be arriving anytime if what the commoner said was true. If the thief did show up, she would need to be careful. Now that she had thought of it, she was beginning to question whether it had been wise to agree to help the commoner. He hadn't seemed like he was lying, but he could have been a very talented actor like Hans. The thought of the two-faced prince put a sour taste in her mouth, but she quickly shook her head, banishing the thoughts away.

When she saw that the coast was clear, she waved her hand and tiny snowflakes appeared around her, causing her to smile at the sight. Smiling and laughing, she continually created more snowflakes, hoping for the time to go by fast.

When she and Anna were children before the accident, Anna would beg for her to show her powers, and would smile every time they would make a snowman. She wished that Anna could remember the times they would play with her powers during their early childhood and the accident was still painful for Elsa to think about. It was just another long list of mistakes that she had made. Still, she regretted being isolated from the world and hoped that she never limited her contact with anyone again, especially her sister.

All her life, Elsa always had felt like she didn't belong in Arendelle and wished that she could do more than being just the queen. Although she had the freedom to be herself now, she still didn't feel free. Ordinarily, she would spend most of her time in her study. Therefore, she would rarely have the time to be herself and barely even have time to be with Anna and their friends. While Arendelle was an ordinary place, Elsa was the only one who was born with powers and always wondered if there was someone out there that was like her. There was Marcella, but she could perform magic spells and hadn't been born with powers. Since Elsa was a child, she dreamt of a place that was magical like the enchanted forest that her father warned her about. Sometimes, Elsa dreamed that she could leave all her duties of being a queen behind and search for that one place where she would belong, but she was afraid of leaving her country, her friends, and Anna behind. She couldn't deny that it was normal for siblings to go their separate ways, but she and Anna had been separated for so long and neither of them wanted to be separated again. No matter what, Anna would always come first, and Elsa had vowed for things to stay that way forever.

Hopefully, Marcella was doing a decent job at running her kingdom with the help of Kai and Gerda, especially since they knew how she ruled her own country, despite that she only had a year of experience. Speaking of which, where were Rapunzel, Pascal, and Olaf and how was it possible that they still hadn't caught up with her yet? As much as Elsa hated to admit it, there was the possibility that they hadn't heeded Marcella's directions and, consequently, something had gone wrong with the dust portal. Perhaps she was just overthinking, and they had just got lost in the town somewhere. She was sure that they would meet up with her soon and then Lord Graham would help them deal with the potential assassin. Elsa was already determined to know if the rumour was true, who would want to kill her and why. The only person that she could think of was Hans, but she had not heard from him since she had exiled him. She could also count the Duke of Weselton because he sent his guards to kill her during the great freeze and, from what she had heard, he had moved on to find new trade partners since she'd cut off all trade with him.

Suddenly, the clock stuck loudly, forcing Elsa to jump up with a surprised yelp. She was kicking at herself for yelling, for it was foolish of her. Elsa backed away from the clock and she turned to peer around for any sign of the thief.

"Halt! Who goes there?" a voice shouted behind her, and she froze with her hands in the air. To her surprise, ice shards weren't shot out of the ground, ice wasn't trailing off her fingertips, and the ground wasn't covered in ice. Footsteps slowly came over to her, causing her heart to beat. As soon as the footsteps came to a halt, she gulped and bit her lip. "Turn around."

Elsa took a deep breath as she spun around to a lieutenant standing right across from her. He looked to be in his late fifties or early sixties as he stood tall in his uniform. Elsa crossed her arms, clenching her sleeves to try to avoid exposing her powers.

"I don't think I have seen you before," said the lieutenant. "What is your name?"

Even though Elsa was able to keep a calm demeanour, her heart was beating erratically. How stupid was she for not thinking this through when she was going over her plan with Kai and Gerda? If she had thought more into this, she would have thought of a fake name for herself. She knew that she just had to say the first name that came into her mind. It was not too late to come up with a fake identity, but she would have to come up with a name quickly or the officer would suspect something.

"My name is Ella," Elsa lied, blurting out the first name other than her own that came to her mind.

"What are you doing out in the marketplace at this time, Ella?" The lieutenant frowned suspiciously. He cocked an eyebrow and craned into the young girl. "You're not stealing anything are you?"

"No," Elsa denied, shaking her head. She wondered why he was suspecting that she might've stolen something until it finally hit her. It was her disguise. She was dressed like a peasant and, despite the circumstances, needed to play the part of one. "I am not from around here and I got lost."

For a moment, the lieutenant fisted his hips. Elsa couldn't tell if he believed her or not. She could see the dark alleyway right behind him. "I understand you're poor, but stealing anything will only get you into more trouble. Anyway, you should be careful out here. It's not safe. If I were you, I would find some shelter."

Elsa nodded. As soon as the lieutenant headed into another direction, Elsa noticed a dark silhouette moving forward in the alley. She could make it out to be an outline of a person. Her eyes widened, and she immediately peered right back at the silhouette. For a moment, she considered bringing the lieutenant with her, but before she could call out to him, he had already left the town square. It was too dark for her to see the silhouette clearly, so she would have to approach him to find out. The silhouette began to step farther into the alley and farther into the darkness. Elsa let out a breath before she stalked into the alleyway after him.

For a while, Elsa followed the silhouette straight until the silhouette finally turned right. Cautiously, Elsa tiptoed up to the corner and gingerly turned to the right with her right hand on the wall. Moonlight shone through the entire area like a lantern in the night. She could see the silhouette clearly now, and she made it out to be a middle-aged man in a torn, dark brown jacket surrounded by crates all around him. He was sitting on one of the crates with a satchel seated next to him. He appeared to be counting something in his hands.

Elsa slowly tiptoed farther until she came to a halt where she slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out the fabric. She felt it was stupid to be out in the open like this and decided to hide behind something. As she stepped back, her foot stepped in a puddle of water, causing her heart to beat in fear. She slowly peered up and gulped as she saw the man staring right at her.

"Oh?" the man exclaimed. His voice was deep, rich and friendly. "Where did you come from?"

There was no point in being silent since he had already spotted her. Elsa cleared her throat and clenched the fabric tightly. "I was from town," she answered.

"Do you need help?" asked the man. "Are you lost?"

"No, I am not lost," replied Elsa. "What are you doing?"

The man arose, grabbed his satchel, and slowly approached her. As he came closer, Elsa noticed that his jacket was the same as the fabric she held in her hand. She was starting to doubt that she'd been wise to follow him. "I was counting my money," he said, laying out his hand where she could see piles of gold pieces scattered all over his palm.

Elsa glanced at the satchel that the man clenched in his left hand, suspiciously. Was he hiding something? "What do you have in the satchel?"

"Just some food," the man answered calmly. He appeared to be in his mid-forties with curly black hair with grey streaks, blue eyes, and a small white mole on his chin. "I can show you if you wish."

"Please," Elsa said, nodding her head.

The man tossed the satchel to her where she barely caught it. Elsa opened the satchel and saw that there was bread, oranges, apples, and some turnips. The man gestured for her to return it to him, and she reluctantly did so.

"Why are you concerned?" the man asked nervously. He gasped as Elsa held out the fabric to him. "No!" he hollered. "I've been caught red-handed!"

"It's true then?" asked Elsa.

"I'm so sorry!" the man cried as he fell to his knees. "I didn't mean to take the jewellery box from you!"

"The jewellery box doesn't belong to me," Elsa said, peering down at him. Looking at the distressed man, Elsa felt shreds of sympathy. "A man had told me that you took his wife's jewellery box, and he had asked me to help him find it."

"Oh dear," The man fretted as he cupped his face, dropping his gold pieces all over the ground. Elsa bent down and picked up the money. "What have I done? I never should have done that! Someone could find out that I had stolen the book that I sold today! I'm in hot water!"

"Wait!" said Elsa as she handed the money back to him. "You sell things after you steal them?!"

"Yes!" the man confirmed, putting his money into one of his pockets. "I would break into an empty house and I would steal anything valuable. I would then go to the other side of town and sell them."

"Why would you do that?" Elsa quizzed. She was astonished that he seemed so honest. "Do you realize how much trouble you'll get into?"

"Yes, but I have no choice," the man explained. "I can't afford to put food on the table, so I have to steal things. I need to take care of my family. They'll starve to death if I don't have the money. We could barely survive on our own."

Elsa almost believed him. Perhaps, it was because the part where he spoke about his family reminded her of Anna. But still, he could be lying. He didn't seem like he was, but he could be a good liar like Hans.

"Can you show your family to me?" Elsa inquired. She wanted proof that he was telling the truth. If he turned out to be a liar, she could always use her powers even though she wished not to expose them as part of her disguise. "I want to believe you, but I don't trust strangers. I want you to prove to me that you are telling me the truth."

"Yes," the thief responded with no hesitation much to Elsa's surprise. "I was on my way home anyway. Follow me."

After they went around a block, they were heading towards a small old cottage surrounded by trees, far out from the town. For a while, Elsa could barely see the colour because of the dark. As they got closer to the cottage, she could tell that the cottage only had one or two floors, was made of stone, and had a thatched roof.

The man opened the door for himself and Elsa and they stepped inside the small house. She could hear the floor creak as she entered the house shortly before she shut the door behind them.

"DADDY!"

Two young boys and one young girl ran over to the man and jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him over. He smiled, wrapping his arms around them and speaking great things to them. A tall teenage girl ran over to them and wrapped her arms around her father and he kissed her forehead in response. A woman who looked roughly the same age as the thief came over to her husband and children. The man and his wife embraced and kissed. The man told his wife about the money and the food.

Elsa stood there speechless as she gaped at the family. She felt terrible and she instantly regretted not believing him. The man only stole so he could support his family. He did one of the worst things he could do in order to protect the best thing that ever happened to him. He loved his family and couldn't afford to lose them. Tears started to form in her brown eyes as she watched the loving family and saw that they truly cared about each other. Without a doubt, they loved each other very much and it reminded her of Anna and their parents.

"Papa, who is this?" asked the teenage girl spotting Elsa. The man and his family turned to Elsa who was wiping her eyes with her sleeves. "I've never seen her before."

"I brought her here to return something to her," the man explained, taking off his jacket. He kissed his wife and children shortly before heading towards a door. "I'll be back in a moment."

The three little children played with each other while the teenaged girl helped the mother set the table. Elsa looked around the room, feeling pity for the family. There was only a table, some sewing tools, and a pot hanging over a small fireplace. The ceiling, walls, and the wooden floor were old, worn down, and poor quality. The thief came back into the room with something large in his hands and led Elsa outside the cottage. After they shut the door behind them, the man handed her the jewellery box. It was a large white box with a lid on the top and some knobs in the middle of the box. Elsa could tell that it was very expensive because of the high quality.

"I'll make you a deal," the man offered. "I'll give you back the jewellery box if you don't tell Lieutenant Larson."

"I'll take the deal," said Elsa. "However, you must do me a favour in return for not speaking with the Lieutenant."

"What would that be?" asked the man.

"When I return the jewellery box to the owner's husband, you should consider coming back with me and tell him why you stole it," she suggested. The man's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped which didn't surprise her. "If you just tell him the truth, he might listen to you and forgive you."

"I know you won't rat me out, but he would for sure," the man said. "You just told me that you barely knew him. How do you know he won't turn me in?"

"To be honest, I don't know," Elsa said. If this were a perfect world, she would be able to assure the man that the commoner would forgive him, and everything would be alright, but this was reality and she had to be frank with him. "I just thought that he should know that you are a loving husband and father just trying to put food on the table. I understand if you don't want to. Just do what you think is best for your family and what you think they would want you to do."

For a moment, the man said nothing. Elsa was already convinced that he would turn down the deal. The man peered up at her with sadness in his eyes. "What if I refuse?"

"Then I won't take the music box back," Elsa answered. "If I see him, I'll just tell him that I couldn't find the thief and I won't tell anybody, not even the lieutenant. No one will know except the two of us."

The man was silent again which wasn't a good sign. Elsa was certain that he wouldn't accept the deal. Perhaps it was best that he didn't. He would still be with his family. After a long minute, the man finally gave her an answer. "Yes. I'll return with you and explain everything to him."

"You don't have to."

"I know but I want to."

* * *

As they reached the town square, Elsa's eyes surveyed the area for any sign of the commoner or Rapunzel and Olaf. She realized that having the man confess to the commoner was a very risky thing to do and it made her anxious, wishing that she hadn't proposed the deal. It was possible that the commoner would turn the man in to the authorities. She hoped that wouldn't happen.

"It's you!" a voice shouted, causing Elsa to jump. At first, she thought that it was the lieutenant again until she saw that the commoner was coming over to them. "You're back!"

Elsa saw that the commoner was rushing over to them. She figured that the thief knew that this was the owner's husband. If the thief hadn't left his jacket at home, the commoner would've recognized him. She could feel that something was going to happen as her heart rapidly beat.

"What happened?" the commoner asked, right when he stopped in front of Elsa and the man. Elsa brought out the jewellery box to the commoner gasped and stood in awe.

"Yes," Elsa nodded. She handed the music box to him who still stood in awe. "That's your wife's jewellery box."

"Oh, my dear." He smiled, tears starting to fill his eyes. "You didn't have to. My wife will be so happy! Thank you so much!" He noticed the man, which made Elsa more anxious. She didn't want this to be a situation where her powers could be exposed. "And who are you?"

The man cleared his throat and brought out his hand. "My name is Andrew," he greeted politely. "Nice to meet you."

Elsa was quiet as she watched the commoner and Andrew shake hands. It seemed to be starting off well so far, but she knew that it could change at any moment. She took a few deep breaths. Elsa knew better than to get so worked up that they would discover her powers.

"Nice to meet you too. My name is Ezekiel," the commoner greeted with a smile. "You must be one of her friends that she was waiting for earlier. It was so kind of you to help her find my wife's jewellery box."

"That is why I am here," Andrew spoke. Elsa's smile faded away as she saw that Ezekiel had a concerned expression on his face. "I have decided to talk to you. I was the thief."

"What are you saying?" Ezekiel growled as his face suddenly turned red.

"Please," Elsa pleaded. "Listen to him. Please."

While Andrew told him everything, Elsa watched in fear with her heart beating rapidly, unsure of how Ezekiel would react. When Andrew finished, Elsa felt that the worst was about to come and wished that she hadn't brought Andrew back with her. For a long minute, Ezekiel was speechless before he finally peered up at Andrew.

"I can't imagine what you all have been going through," he lamented. "I always took care of my wife, but we never thought of how lucky we were. You and your family don't have what we have. I am amazed that you would do anything to help your wife and children. I feel horrible that I was wrong about you. I forgive you. We won't say anything to Lieutenant Larson, and we are willing to help you and your family if you need anything."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," said Andrew. Elsa was pleasantly surprised and relieved that everything had worked out. Andrew turned to her. "And thank you for convincing me to talk to him."

Ezekiel turned to Elsa. "This was your idea?" he asked.

"Yes," Andrew replied. "She told me that I should come with her and talk to you. I'm glad that she did."

"That was a very thoughtful thing that you did. Thank you," said Ezekiel.

Elsa let out a breath and smiled. "Oh, you don't have to thank me," she said softly. Now that she had completed an act of kindness, she thought that she should start searching for Rapunzel and Olaf. She felt that they were waiting for her somewhere. "Ezekiel, I wish the best for your wife and Andrew, I wish the best for your family."

Just then, Elsa, Andrew, and Ezekiel heard a door opening from nearby. They turned and they saw that far off from them, a slender woman with long curly shiny black hair had just come out of one of the stores with a locket in her hand. She buttoned her red coat and made her way to the opening of the town square.

"Do you know her?" Ezekiel asked. Andrew and Elsa shook their heads in response. "I don't either and I don't know anyone who knows her. I have been seeing her around the town lately."

"You know," started Andrew, "I have been seeing her a lot as well. The other day when I was selling some boots, she asked for some potion. I asked her the reason and she told me that it was none of my concern. Before she left, she told me not to mention it to anyone."

"Something's strange," said Ezekiel. "She could be up to something."

Elsa wondered who this strange woman was and why she would be asking for a potion. What she was more curious about was why she refused to tell Andrew what she needed the potion for. She saw that the woman was leaving the town square and, while Elsa would have rather searched for Rapunzel and Olaf, she wanted to know if this woman was up to something.

"I'll see what she's up to." Elsa decided. Andrew and Ezekiel were aghast as they spun towards her. "I am going to follow her."

"Do you want us to come with you?" asked Ezekiel. "You have done so much for us."

"No thank you," Elsa answered. "I can do this on my own. I'll see if she's up to no good or not."

"Are you sure?" Andrew asked.

"Don't worry," Elsa reassured. "I'll be alright. She could be harmless." Now would be the time to follow the woman if she wished to learn more about her. Elsa took a deep breath as she stepped forward, glancing over her shoulder at Andrew and Ezekiel. "I will follow her. You two wait here for me. When I find out about her, I will come back and let you know."

Andrew and Ezekiel both expressed their gratitude to her, wished her the best of luck, and warned her to be careful. Before she left, Elsa gave them one last smile and couldn't have been any more grateful that she'd helped them. She wished that she could tell them her identity, but she couldn't give herself away. Cautiously, Elsa left the town square as she stalked after the woman.

* * *

After a while, Elsa was following behind the woman in a wide-open field surrounded by trees and bushes and wondering if this was the same area that the dust portal dropped her off at until she saw that the woman was heading towards a well. Elsa thought that it was strange that she was going towards a well and wondered why she was doing this.

The woman suddenly paused and spun around to see that no one was there. She turned and approached the well quietly. Peeking out from behind a tree, Elsa watched as the woman pulled some rope out from a bush, swung it over the well and climbed down. When the woman was no longer in her sight, Elsa gingerly raced over to the well and peeked through the opening. There was nothing but water at the bottom and she could hear the woman walking. Elsa wrapped her fingers around the rope and slowly began to climb down. As she climbed, she was tempted to use the wall as leverage but she knew that she would draw the woman's attention if she did. From the horrible smell and the sound of water, she could tell that she was going to be following her in the sewer, much to her disgust. Elsa had always been a neat freak and would refuse to go into any messy room.

As soon as she reached the end of the rope with her feet just above the water, she let go and felt her boots in the water below her. She looked around as she went forward into the sewers and decided that the well must be some short cut to the sewers. Just as Elsa turned around the corner, she quickly froze as soon as she saw the woman walking forward in the water. Fortunately, she was able to remain calm and she pressed herself against the wall and slowly followed the woman for quite some time. It was hard to do because she couldn't be too fast, but she also couldn't be too slow.

Eventually, there was a three-way split ahead of them. They were most definitely far from the town by now, and Elsa was beginning to doubt that she'd made the right call following this woman, especially since Rapunzel and Olaf were still looking for her somewhere, but it was too late now. She'd made her choice and all she had to do was pay attention to where the woman was going. After the woman took the tunnel to the right, Elsa snuck over to the wall across from her.

Just then the woman froze and Elsa pressed herself against the wall. The woman whirled around with an arched eyebrow. Elsa thought that she was lucky that she could just blend in with the darkness and stayed where she was until she heard the woman sigh and go farther along the path. Elsa pressed her hand against the wall and snuck forward with her long brown hair hanging over her shoulders as she listened for the woman's footsteps in the water. When Elsa reached the corner of the wall, she slunk forward and peeked to see that the woman was climbing up a rope that led up to a circle with moonlight shining through. After the woman reached the top of the rope and climbed out of the circle, Elsa raced over to the rope and immediately climbed up. The sound of crickets chirping and owls hooting grew louder the farther she got up on the rope.

To no surprise, the rope came out of an opening of another well. As Elsa climbed out of the well and rose from the ground, she saw that there was a bridge across from her. Right when she crossed the wooden bridge, she surveyed the area and let out a horrified gasp when she saw that the woman was heading towards a sandy wide-open space with nothing for her to hide behind. If the woman turned and spotted her, it would be all over. Then she noticed that the woman was leaving footprints in the sand. A voice was telling Elsa to go back through the well and get back to the town but for some reason, she ignored it and waited for the woman to be far away from her. When there was a good distance between the two of them, Elsa seized her opportunity and carefully followed the footprints.

After at least fifteen minutes, Elsa saw that they appeared to be on a beach with two beached ships in the sand while the blue water washed up against them. The two ships were spread out from each other and they got bigger the closer Elsa got. One was a green ship while the other one was a red ship that was across from a boardwalk that would lead to another town which was supposedly bigger than the last one she was in. From years and years of being a bibliophile, she suddenly recognized this place from one of her history books she'd read as a young teenager. The ships were pirate ships from almost a hundred years ago and, since then, the sailors and the fishermen had emptied out the ships and used them for storage. At this time of night, the fishermen were out at sea somewhere. Elsa quickly hid behind the green ship and watched as the woman approached a large opening on the red ship. She was talking to someone who was inside the ship, so she wasn't alone. After the woman entered the large hole, Elsa quickly slunk over to the red ship, and crouched down towards the large hole where she could hear everyone talking inside very clearly.

Inside the ship there were two young men and two young women seated at a small table. All four of them were in either their late teens or early twenties. The young men and women looked around the place and couldn't believe that this was a pirate's ship. Other than the table and chairs that they were sitting in, there were fishing rods and nets all around. Eager to get their attention, the woman whistled and dropped her locket on the wooden table. Right when the four young people finally turned their attention to her, she cleared her throat and took out a list from one of her pockets.

"Now I would like to see all of the ingredients for the energy potion on the table," The woman commanded. "Come on! No time like the present!" After she snapped her fingers, the four young people brought out ingredients and placed them on the table. The two young women and the oldest male had the same ingredients while the youngest male with black hair had completely different ingredients. He was confused and searched through pages in his book, shaking his head. "And by the looks of it I can tell that Phillips didn't get any of the ingredients that he was supposed to get," The woman angrily pointed. "Because he's like: 'What?' 'No, but I—' 'Why that's impossible!' 'This couldn't be!' 'I don't know what you're talking about!' What do you have to say about that, Phillips?"

"I must've got the ingredients for the wrong potion!" Phillips whined.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Phillips. You were here yesterday." The woman chastised. She opened a large red leather book and turned to page three hundred and forty-one. "Now, my four apprentices. Apart from Phillips, you have all gotten the required ingredients for the energy potion. Phillips will have to work with Tabitha for the moment and get the right ingredients when we head back to town later. You all have your spell books, don't you?"

"Gothel," said the oldest female with an average height. "Do you think we should get to the point why we're here?"

"Then I guess you weren't listening to me," teased Gothel. Suddenly she laughed while the oldest female just sat in her seat, unsure of how to react. "Ha! I'm just joking, Tabitha!" She peered at the youngest female with rosy skin. "Lilly, can you tell me what the potion does?"

"It restores our energy," the oldest male with a mellow voice answered right when Lilly was about to open her mouth. "The potion restores our energy."

"Stew!" Gothel chided. "I wasn't talking to you!"

Elsa stayed perfectly still, listening to their conversations. From what she'd just heard, Gothel was a witch and she had her four young apprentices inside with her. Elsa felt a sick feeling in her stomach, thinking that following Gothel may have been a foolish and a risky thing to do. If she hadn't had anywhere to hide when she'd followed Gothel earlier, she could've been seen and had a spell cast on her.

"Mistress," the youngest girl, Lilly, spoke. "I don't mean to be off-topic, but why couldn't we have our meeting in your tower back in Gavena instead of here in the Northern Isles?"

"Look, I am going to need help from all four of you," said Gothel. She pulled out a chair and sat down at her table, across from her four apprentices and made sure that they all were paying attention to her. "I've heard a myth that there is a tree that contains a sap that will give me eternal youth and immortality," she spoke. "I don't know if it's true, but I am curious to know."

"Why couldn't you just continue to use the healing incantation?" asked Tabitha.

"If I drink the sap, I will stay young and live forever," Gothel explained. "Then I wouldn't need to find and use the golden flower. But we have a bigger problem. Hector has betrayed me for the last time, and I need to get back at him for the way he set me up. If only I know where he is."

"I have an idea, Gothel!" said Stew. "We could find a dragon and we could fly looking for him."

"You know what, Stew?" Gothel smiled sarcastically. "I think that is the stupidest idea I've ever heard. Dragons are not real, and you are not a little boy."

"They are real," Stew argued.

"Well, have you ever seen one?" asked Gothel. Stew shook his head and Gothel smiled in triumph. "Then they are not real. You don't expect any of us to believe that, do you?"

"I thought you would," Phillips surmised. "You came back from the dead."

Gothel rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him. "I didn't return from the dead, Phillips," she hissed. "I had two lives. Apparently, you weren't paying any attention yesterday, so I am going to have to explain it again. Two hundred years ago, my boyfriend and I were strolling by the lake at midnight when we found a small sliver stone called the stone of wishes. He told me that it was a magical stone that only one would arrive every hundred years and it would be a once in a lifetime chance to find one and it can only grant one wish so if someone wished on it, it would be turned into a regular stone. I had never heard of such a thing and thought that it was ridiculous. He asked me to use it to make a wish. I jokingly wished that I had an extra life. Six years ago, when I died, I was relocated at the same lake where I used the stone. I was shocked that the stone had worked, and I even stopped ageing with time. I had two lives the same way that a cat supposedly has nine lives."

"How many lives do you have now?" asked Phillips.

"Only one just like the rest of you," Gothel answered. "I would love to stumble upon another stone of wishes to use but those are very rare to come by and I will start aging again eventually. That's why I need to find the tree of youth. Hector knew that I desire to find it, so he blew my secret of its possible existence and now everyone is out looking for it. He is willing to destroy it before I could get to it."

"So how are you going to get back at him?" asked Lilly.

"It's easy," Gothel said easily. "I'll have to kill him."

Right when Elsa gasped, a flock of seagulls flew around the ship, screaming. Their screaming could cause Gothel to come out where she would catch her. She quietly begged for them to stop to no avail. The seagulls were screaming louder and louder. Elsa knew that she must get away and tell someone of Gothel's plan, but it was too far for her to get back to Andrew and Ezekiel. Her best bet would be to use the boardwalk to leave the beach and try to get to the closest town.

With no hesitation, Elsa darted towards the boardwalk and kept running when she reached the wood and focused on only getting away from the beach and to the town.

Gothel stepped out of the boat and shooed the seagulls away. Her eyes fell upon the footprints in the sand next to hers. Gothel peered up and her eyes widened as she watched Elsa raced further on the boardwalk. She shook her head, knowing that her plan was just about to be exposed.

"Say goodbye to every single one of your memories," Gothel whispered as she raised her hand with a bright bronze light.

Right when Elsa reached the end of the boardwalk, she paused, and her brown eyes became bright bronze. She peered around, not knowing where she was or why she was there. Everything seemed unfamiliar to her and she couldn't remember her past. She began to panic as she tried to remember something about her past, but she couldn't. She didn't know where she came from or who she was.


	3. Chapter 3: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

The dust portal whooshed angrily blocking any outside calls as Rapunzel floated inside trying to catch her breath and feeling nauseous. In all her life, she'd never imagined that she would be floating inside a tornado. Despite moving rapidly in the air, she was more concerned for her friends and peered down to see that Pascal had just turned purple in her hands.

"Hold on, Pascal!" Rapunzel shouted, holding her best friend close to her chest and searching around for her other friend. "Olaf!"

"I'm here!" Olaf's voice shouted below her. Rapunzel peered down and saw that Olaf's head was floating below her while the rest of his body was floating above her. "Look out!"

Right when Olaf's body got a little too close to her head, she ducked as she held Pascal closer to her. Her eyes widened when she saw that the dust portal was beginning to grow larger. Then she felt like she had accidentally swallowed something. Suddenly, she was dropped down. She was screaming so loudly that she could almost drown out the whooshing dust portal. The ground slammed against her back, painfully.

Rapunzel lay on the ground and watched as the dust portal grew smaller and smaller till it disappeared. For a long minute, she tried to recall everything that had just happened. She never wanted to go back in that thing again but she knew that after she and Elsa found Lord Graham, they would most likely use it again. As Rapunzel rose, she saw that she had landed in a large garden. There were tomatoes, carrots, turnips, and cauliflower all over. She peered down at her hands to see that Pascal was still there and he was looking around the place. She was in a pile of cauliflowers and after a moment of clarity, she jerked around for any sign of Olaf.

"Olaf!" she shouted in her hoarse voice. The last thing that she wanted was to be separated from her friend. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she lost someone in her group. "Olaf, where are you?"

"I'm over here!" Olaf shouted. Rapunzel turned to see that Olaf's head was in a rose bush. He seemed unharmed and very happy. She loved that he always tried to stay positive despite the circumstances. "My body just lost my head. Or my head lost its body."

Just then, they heard pots breaking nearby and saw that Olaf's body was running into flower pots, breaking every single one of them. After she placed Pascal on her shoulder, Rapunzel rushed over to the flower pots and picked up Olaf's body where she saw that there were scattered pieces of the vases everywhere. As she rushed over to the rose bush, she saw that the vegetables were ruined and the flowers were out of place most likely because of the dust portal. When Rapunzel reached the rose bush, she gently helped Olaf onto his body.

"Are you alright, Olaf?" she asked, a gentle tone in her raspy voice. "That dust portal was dangerous, to be honest."

"I am wonderful!" Olaf beamed. "That was so much fun! Can we ride in there again?"

Rapunzel chuckled nervously, surprised that Olaf had liked the dust portal while she found it to be potentially dangerous and too fast. It was amazing that no one had gotten hurt even if she might've swallowed something when they were inside. Rapunzel opened her mouth to say something when a door slammed opened and a woman's scream was heard.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY GARDEN?!" the woman shrilled. Her scream was so high pitched that it could break a window. "WHY ARE YOU TRESPASSING ON MY PROPERTY?!"

"I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to ruin your garden! It wasn't our fault! We—"

"And I suppose that you attempted to steal something from my garden?" the woman shrieked. "How did you get in my garden?"

"No, not at all," Rapunzel said. "We had fallen from the sky!"

"Yeah, right!" the woman shrieked, obviously not believing her. As best as she could, Rapunzel attempted to explain to the woman about the dust portal but it did nothing. "NOW GET OUT!"

"If you can just—"

"OUT!"

Rapunzel gingerly raced out of the garden as Pascal clung on to her sleeve and quickly opened the gate. She turned to see that Olaf was still in the garden and gestured for him to come with her but instead, Olaf turned to the woman with a smile on his face.

"Can I have a tomato?" he asked. "I've never tried one before—"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the woman shrilled, scaring the snowman. Olaf let out a loud yelp and scurried over to Rapunzel with the woman marching right behind him. Rapunzel allowed Olaf to run out of the garden first. "AND STAY OUT!"

As soon as Rapunzel ran out of the garden, the woman slammed the gate and snatched Olaf's nose from him. "Hey, that's mine!" Olaf said.

"No, you stole it from me!" the woman barked.

"We did no such thing!" Rapunzel snapped, glaring at the screaming woman. "You're the one who—"

"GET OUT!" the woman screamed. Rapunzel and Olaf took this as the last warning and ran away from the woman and her ruined garden. "AND DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK OR I'll REPORT YOU!"

They kept running until they were apparently in a large city. Rapunzel glanced over her shoulder to make sure that the woman wasn't chasing after her and saw no one behind her. As she turned back to Olaf, she saw that the buildings were tall and that the weather was beyond humid which surprised her because she had expected the weather to be cooler in the Northern Isles.

"Why did she think we stole my nose?" Olaf asked.

"We landed in her garden and there were carrots, Olaf," Rapunzel explained as she took out her handkerchief and coughed into it. Although she thought the woman overreacted and she didn't have to take Olaf's nose, the woman had gone through all that trouble of cultivating a garden only for it to be destroyed. Pascal chattered to her and she peered down at her little friend. "I tried to explain to her about the dust portal, Pascal, but she didn't believe me."

"You don't think the same thing happened to Elsa, do you?" Olaf asked.

"I'm sure she's had better luck than we have," Rapunzel replied. She peered around the area for her cousin. "Speaking of which, where is she? She should be around here somewhere."

"We'll find her, right?" Olaf asked nervously.

"Don't worry, Olaf. We will." Rapunzel smiled reassuringly. As she glanced over her shoulder again, she wrapped her arm around Olaf as Pascal crawled onto her shoulder and they stepped forward into the streets of the large city. The city was larger than she'd been expecting. The streets were filled with busy residents. The children were playing games with each other while the men and women were either coming out of buildings or heading towards a destination. "While we're looking for her, we should buy you a new carrot. We'll run into Elsa or she'll meet us somewhere."

As Rapunzel and Olaf explored further into the city, a woman and young boy approached a man who opened his arms and the young boy jumped into his arms. The man and boy laughed and the woman smiled as she stood by them.

"I am so happy to see you, Uncle Joseph!" the boy exclaimed.

"I haven't seen you and your mother in such a long time." Joseph smiled.

"Thank you for letting us come here to stay for a while, Joseph," the woman said. "My husband doesn't even know when he'll come back from his trip. I figured since your nephew hasn't seen you in so long, we could stop by to visit you and your wife."

"I understand." Joseph smiled. "Welcome to Mirahton!"

The loud sounds of the city carried out over the atmosphere as Rapunzel and Olaf wandered onto the streets where the citizens were doing their daily routines, bikes riding past them, and children playing ball. Although the street was filled with its residents, Rapunzel was surprised that they hadn't run into a market and most of all, she was surprised that they had yet to find her cousin. Was there a possibility that Elsa had landed in another part of the country? She doubted that Elsa would search for Lord Graham without her and she knew that she would be appalled if they decided that they would search for the Lord without her, which they would never do. When they found her, they would have to keep Elsa's identity hidden until they found Lord Graham. However, Rapunzel didn't need to keep her identity hidden and could inquire the citizens for Elsa's whereabouts without giving her away.

"Rapunzel?" Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the snowman called her name and pointed in a different direction. "What is going on over there?"

There was a crowd in a huddle not too far from them. Their backs were all turned to them and they seemed to be cheering about something. For a moment, they were silent until a band of instruments was playing a lively tune. When the music ended, there was applause echoing over to them.

"I think they're watching some kind of street performance, Olaf," Rapunzel guessed. Pascal shrugged up at her and Olaf nodded before turning back to the crowd. "Something is entertaining them."

"Wow!" Olaf smiled. Rapunzel's eyes widened as her friend raced over to the crowd, leaving her no choice but to chase after him. They were already in a mess trying to find Elsa and the last thing that they needed was to lose more people in their group. "Let's see what they're watching!"

"Wait, Olaf!" shouted Rapunzel. She peered down at Pascal who sat on her shoulder. "Hang on, Pascal." She peered back to the direction Olaf was running. "We'll just have to—"

Rapunzel's heart started beating as she watched Olaf disappear into the crowd. Without hesitation, she shoved her way through the crowd, politely apologizing as she pushed past people. The crowd all stood like statues making it more difficult for her to move, but all she could do was to keep moving forward. Fortunately, the crowd was silent and she could hear Olaf's voice in the distance and she wasn't too far from him. She followed his cheering until she finally saw him in the front of the crowd, clapping and cheering about something.

"Olaf!" she shouted.

Just then the entire crowd cheered so loud that it almost hurt Rapunzel's ears. By the sound of it, there must have been something exciting going on. As she went further into the crowd towards Olaf, she hoped that the crowd would become silent again so Olaf could hear her calling out to him, but, instead, everyone around her kept cheering so loud that she could barely even hear herself. She kept her eye on Olaf as she shoved her way past people. No one was bothering to move, which slowed her down, making her afraid that she would fall or worse, Olaf would take off again before she would even get to him or Pascal could fall off her and get lost. She looked down at her shoulder where Pascal still sat and reminded him to stay close to her. Before she knew it, Rapunzel was standing right behind Olaf.

"Olaf!" she yelled, eager to get his attention. She coughed violently into her left arm. "I'm right behind you!"

The cheering crowd had blurred her out therefore Olaf still couldn't hear her. Rapunzel tapped on his shoulder and he turned to her as the crowd kept getting louder.

"Hi!" he said. The crowd was so loud that Rapunzel couldn't hear him.

"Don't take off like that again," Rapunzel said.

"What?" asked Olaf.

"I said don't take off like that again."

"I'll try not to cough again." Olaf smiled.

"No, I said 'don't take off again'," Rapunzel shouted through the crowd.

"Yes! I'll have cake again!" Olaf cheered, jumping up and down.

When the crowd finally became dead silent, Rapunzel slowly peered up and saw that there was a tall slim middle aged man. He had a long blue cape and wore rings on his hands. There was a small black hat on the ground with coins inside.

The man pointed to a young townsman standing beside Olaf. "Will you be my assistant?" his deep, haunting voice asked affably. "You will be missing a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you don't."

"Alright." the townsman shrugged.

After the townsman stepped forward, the man placed a cloak over him and turned to the crowd. Olaf stood with a huge smile on his face while Rapunzel stood with a curious expression on her face.

"Now ladies and gentleman," the man said. "I present you—"he grabbed the cloak with a grin, "an invisible man!" When the man removed the cloak, the crowd gasped and the townsman was nowhere to be seen.

"What's all this?" he asked.

The crowd gasped again and Rapunzel's eyes widened. The man put the cloak on the invisible man again. When he removed the cloak, the townsman was back and the audience cheered again.

Rapunzel tapped on Olaf. "We have to go now," she said, taking his hand.

After Rapunzel donated some of her money into the man's hat, she, Olaf, and Pascal left the crowd, wandering farther into the streets.

As soon as they turned around the corner, Olaf tugged on Rapunzel's dress and pointed to a large building with a market sign hanging from the door. Rapunzel grinned and gestured for Olaf to follow her to the shop. She thought that it was about time that they would find some shop or market and the best part was that it only took a short time for them to find one. Olaf had already arrived at the door before Rapunzel's feet even reached the stairs that led to a small porch and he peered at the sign.

"Where do you think we'll find Elsa?" Olaf asked as he glanced at Rapunzel with a knock on the door.

"She's probably either waiting for us somewhere or she's looking for us," Rapunzel answered with a smile shortly before she coughed into her hand. As she heard footsteps stomping over to the door, her smile faded when she noticed that the sign said 'CLOSED' and she remembered that her cousins had told her that they had just started teaching Olaf how to read. "Uh, Olaf?"

"The door slammed open and out came a large pump man who was incandescent with rage. The little snowman smiled at the man. "Hi, there! I'm Olaf and I like warm—"

"DO YOU, PEOPLE, NOT READ?!" the man bellowed, sending Olaf to step backward in fear, Pascal to scowl at him, and Rapunzel to come to Olaf's side. She tried to defend him but she covered her cough instead. "DID YOU NOT SEE THE SIGN?!"

"Y-Yes, I did," Olaf stuttered. "Your market is open. It said that we could come in!"

"MY MARKET IS CLOSED!" the man roared, spraying spit in Rapunzel's face and drawing in a large crowd nearby. "WE ARE CLOSED UNTIL TOMORROW! ARE YOU NOT BRIGHT?!"

"He's learning how to read," Rapunzel explained, wiping the spit off her face. "He didn't know what it said."

"We are very sorry," Olaf spoke, covering his face with his twig arms. Rapunzel wrapped her arm around him, trying to comfort him. "I didn't mean to—"

"WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" the man demanded, forcing Pascal to turn red and making Olaf jump.

"We—"

"I SAID WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" the man screamed, scaring the snowman.

"Home," Rapunzel answered.

"THEN GO BACK HOME!" the man hollered. Rapunzel grabbed Olaf's arm and scurried away from the market, not wanting to anger the man anymore and ignoring the crowd as she and her friend spirited away. "AND DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK UNTIL TOMORROW!"

Shortly after, Rapunzel heard the door slammed loudly behind her and she turned to see that the sign had fallen off the floor. Olaf lifted his arms away from his face and Pascal snuck his tongue out at the market. Taking a deep breath, Rapunzel gestured for Olaf to back farther away from the market with her in hopes of not causing any more trouble. She couldn't help but wonder if the market man had known that she was the princess of Corona and wished that she would've spoken up, but there was no point and it wasn't Olaf's fault that he was still learning how to read. When they came to a halt, Rapunzel glanced over her shoulder to see that the crowd muttered something as they broke up and went back to their business.

"What was that about?" Olaf asked. Rapunzel peered back to the market one last time to make sure that the man wasn't going to come out again and chase after Olaf. If only Elsa was there with them, she would not allow them to be foolish and impetuous. Instead, she would've read the sign and this wouldn't have happened. They needed to find her cousin soon before they ran into any more trouble. "Why was he so mean?"

"I don't know, Olaf," Rapunzel answered. She agreed with her friend that the man was very unfriendly and he had no reason to scream at them like that. Back in Corona, she had always been on bad terms with Monty but he even wouldn't act this way towards anyone. "Some people are just not nice people."

A man in his mid-fifties approached them. He had brown eyes and was dressed in a grey jacket with a pocket watch and dark trousers. "Excuse me? I don't mean to be rude but why didn't you read the sign before you knocked on the door?"

Olaf was just about to run away but Rapunzel gestured for him to stay. She knew that Olaf meant no harm and she doesn't need to lose any more people from her group. It was bad enough that they would have to find Elsa. She was not hiding her identity so there was no reason not to be honest with him.

"My friend here is still learning how to read and spell," Rapunzel explained. The man with the pocket watch nodded and crossed his arms as he stared at Olaf. "He didn't mean to anger him."

"Are you a snowman?" the man with the pocket watch asked. Olaf nodded with a large smile as the man bent down to him. "How are you alive? We haven't even reached fall yet."

"She made me," Olaf smiled.

The man with the pocket watch turned to Rapunzel. "You made him?"

"No, my cousin did," Rapunzel responded. This would be a perfect opportunity to learn of her cousin's whereabouts. "That reminds me, have you seen a woman who is this tall with brown hair and eyes? We are looking for her and we need to find her soon. We need to escort her somewhere."

"I'm afraid I haven't," the man with the pocket watch answered, shaking his head. "I would help you if I could but I haven't seen her." He raised his eyebrow and gave Olaf a puzzled look. "Why doesn't he have a nose?"

"I did but it got taken," Olaf answered.

"A woman thought that we stole one of her carrots so she took Olaf's nose," Rapunzel explained. "That is why we are trying to find a market."

"There aren't any markets open around here." The man with the pocket watch rose. "However, there is one open a little farther away, but you would need to get there fast before it closes for the night."

"Really?!" Rapunzel and Olaf exclaimed at once. "Where is it?"

"Can you tell us how to get there?" Rapunzel inquired.

"Go around the block and you should see one," the man with the pocket watch instructed. "It is located next to the sweet shop."

"Thank you very much." Rapunzel smiled.

After they went around the block, they saw that there was a market with a red roof next to a large building with cupcakes and sweets through the glass window. Rapunzel and Pascal grinned to each other and she was just about to get over to the market when she saw that Olaf was peeking through the glass window. She thought of gesturing him over to him but instead, she smiled and raced in line.

As she waited in line, she saw that two townspeople were painting a building across from her, reminding her of her favorite hobby and it made her smile. If she didn't have a lot going on, she would be going over there and offering to help them paint the same way she was helping Elsa and Anna decided to go to Belliville for her sister. That reminded her that a few days ago, Rupert had told her that he knew her father. She was curious to know how they knew each other. Were they friends? Did they meet at a party? Were they even enemies? She doubted the latter for she couldn't imagine who would be in conflict with her parents.

The long line dragged on slowly, but, fortunately, she was able to buy a carrot before the market closed for the night. As soon as she started to approach Olaf, she saw that the market person placed a closed sign on the market. She coughed violently into her handkerchief as she came towards her friend.

With a gentle smile, Rapunzel tapped on Olaf's shoulder and he turned to her with a smile. "Here you go, Olaf."

"Thank you!" Olaf exclaimed as he put his new nose on, causing Pascal to smile. He peered back to the sign on the sweet shop. "Why is it called a sweat shop?" Rapunzel and Pascal burst out laughing while Olaf stood there puzzled. "What did I do?"

"Olaf," Rapunzel laughed."It's 'sweet shop' not sweat shop."

"Oh." Olaf nodded. He peered back up at the sign again. "They both sound the same."

"You know, Olaf," Rapunzel chuckled, "I have a story that I think you would like to hear. It was the annual Gopher Festival and a shopkeeper named Monty booed me in the crowd. I wanted to find out why he didn't like me so one of the guards gave me the name of his shop and he actually spelled it 'Sweat Shop'."

Olaf laughed. Rapunzel smiled at her little friend and was more than happy that Elsa had created him with her powers. If only her cousin would see how talented she was with her magic.

Olaf's smile faded away and he peered back up at Rapunzel. "Why didn't Monty like you? What happened next?"

"After I met him, I went in disguise to seek the truth of why he hated me," Rapunzel explained. "I learned that he dreamt of winning the gopher grab so I convinced him to sign up. He won with my help but when he found out about my disguise, he explained to me that he didn't like me because of all of the changes I made to Corona."

"Did you become friends?" Olaf asked.

"Actually, no," Rapunzel answered. "We're not friends, but we still respect each other. That was when I learned that not everyone has to like everyone."

"Do you think he would like me?" Olaf asked. "And Elsa? Anna? Kristoff? Sven?"

"I was one of the few people he couldn't stand," Rapunzel laughed. "But he would love you. I think he would like Elsa, Kristoff, and Sven. I'm not sure about Anna though." Rapunzel suddenly thought about Elsa. Her cousin was probably wandering around the city somewhere, looking for her. "And we still need to find Elsa."

"Yes!" Olaf smiled. "Let's go find Elsa! Where is Elsa?"

* * *

Eventually, Rapunzel, Olaf, and Pascal reached a large, unfamiliar area with houses lined up on both sides, fewer people, and a fountain in the middle of the square. Rapunzel surveyed the area but she didn't see her cousin anywhere. She thought that they should take a break, especially since they'd been walking for a while. They went over to the fountain and sat down to take a break.

"Wow!" Olaf exclaimed, staring into his reflection in the water. "This looks like fun!"

After Pascal gestured for her to look, Rapunzel glanced over her shoulder and saw that the beautiful fountain was large and had a statue of a lion. Staring into her reflection, she placed her hand in the water and, surprisingly, it wasn't very cold. Her reflection showed her smiling with Pascal turning blue with the stars scattered in the sky. "It is pretty, isn't it?"

Her reflection suddenly broke when Olaf jumped into the fountain and accidentally splashed her and Pascal. The snowman quickly stood up in the water while Rapunzel laughed and Pascal shook his head in annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Olaf fretted.

"It's alright, Olaf," Rapunzel chuckled as Pascal went back to his usual green. Her smile faded as she quickly surveyed the area for any sign of a guard. Afterward, she craned in closer to her friend. "Just make sure that you get out before a guard catches you."

Olaf kicked in the water, laughing and smiling. This caused Rapunzel to put a smile on her face as she laughed with him. For a moment, Olaf stared into his reflection in silence. "I can see the stars from up here."

Rapunzel peered up at the sky that had stars scattered all over, reminding her of the lanterns that her parents and kingdom would release every year on her birthday.

"You know, Olaf," Rapunzel smiled. "You just gave me an idea for my birthday."

"Oh!" Olaf exclaimed excitedly. "What is it?"

"For my birthday," Rapunzel began, "I would like you, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Sven to come to Corona for my birthday celebration and watch the lanterns with us."

"That sounds like so much fun!" Olaf cheered. "Did you tell Anna and Elsa yet?"

"Not yet," smiled Rapunzel. "But I was thinking that we can tell Elsa when we find her and when Anna comes back from Belleville, we will tell her. There'll be cake and I'll send you all an invitation."

"Yay!" Olaf cheered. "Is your birthday coming up soon?"

"My birthday is not until May 12," Rapunzel answered. "But—" Suddenly she started coughing violently into her hand as she pulled out a handkerchief, alerting both Pascal and Olaf.

"Are you okay?" Olaf asked.

"I just have a dry throat, Olaf." Rapunzel nodded. Pascal chattered to her. "Pascal, I'll be alright. I promise." Her little friend chattered to her again. "I think that it was from the dust portal, but I don't think it's really serious."

"I wish that I had a cup with me," Olaf commented. "So, you could have a drink from the fountain and feel better."

Rapunzel smiled weakly. It was amazing that Elsa created such a lovable snowman. "That is very kind of you, Olaf. But we're not supposed to be drinking from the fountain. It would be against the rules."

"And you don't seem to be following them," a low, gruff voice spoke behind her, causing her to jump.

Rapunzel turned to see that there was a short, slightly plump, unattractive merchant standing right in front of them. He had brown hair with grey streaks and brown eyes with a bushy mustache. He must've snuck up behind them sometime during her conversation with Pascal.

"You should know better," the merchant said. "Get out of the fountain."

"Why can't I swim in it?" Olaf asked. "Did I splash you?"

"It's one of the rules," said the merchant. "It would be unsanitary."

"What does unsanitary mean?" asked Olaf.

"Unsanitary means unhygienic," explained the merchant. Olaf stood there puzzled. Rapunzel could tell that he didn't know what he meant.

"Olaf, what he means is dirty," Rapunzel explained. "They don't want anybody to swim in the fountain because it would be dirty."

"But I'm made out of snow," said Olaf.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid you're going to have to get out of the fountain," said the merchant. "If a guard catches you, you would be in a lot of trouble."

"That was my fault," said Rapunzel. "I told him that he could swim in it."

"Why?" asked the merchant.

"I didn't see why not?" said Rapunzel.

"Well you seem to know that you two wouldn't be allowed to drink from the fountain," said the merchant.

"I'm sorry, Olaf," said Rapunzel. "You're going to have to get out of the fountain."

"Okay," said Olaf, defeated and disappointed.

As Olaf climbed out of the fountain, Rapunzel thought that she should ask the merchant about her cousin. "Excuse me," she began. "Have you seen—" She coughed violently into her handkerchief causing Olaf, Pascal, and the merchant to spin to her with concerned expressions on their faces. "Have you—" Rapunzel coughed violently into her handkerchief, only this time the cough was much more violent than the last. The merchant stood there with a concerned expression as Olaf ran over to her.

"Are you alright?" the merchant asked.

"I'm fine," Rapunzel spoke in her raspy voice. She coughed again. "I just swallowed something from the dust portal."

"Wait," said the merchant. "How long has it been since you arrived here?"

"I don't know," Rapunzel answered. "Over an hour at least?"

"Then you must get some medicine," said the merchant. "By the sound of it, you must've swallowed some of the magic from the dust portal while you were inside. I own a shop not too far from here and I can make medicine. You'll feel better in no time."

* * *

After about twenty minutes, Rapunzel, the merchant, Olaf, and Pascal were approaching a small wooden building with a brick roof and see-through windows surrounded by flowers. The bell rang as the merchant opened the door for them, allowing them inside.

As Rapunzel stepped inside the shop, her mouth dropped when she saw that the white walls were filled with potions stacked on wooden shelves, a painting of the merchant's family hung above a door behind a small counter, cabinets with potions were located in the shop, and a bear rug laid in the middle of the wooden floor.

"Which potion will I need to take?" Rapunzel asked, peering around the room.

"The healing potions are out of stock," the merchant answered as he went behind the counter and twisted the knob on the door. "But I can make you one right now. Just have a seat over there and wait."

After Rapunzel sat on the wooden chairs with Olaf sitting next to her and Pascal crawling on her lap, she couldn't help but look around the place that looked like it was recently built. Everything about the shop was appealing to her except the bear rug. She had always been a lover of animals and never believed that they should be used as trophies.

When the merchant closed the door behind him, he went further into the small room and placed a small bowl on a small wooden table. After he poured water into the bowl, he went over to a cabinet and opened. Inside, there was a magical golden flower sitting in a flower pot.

After about ten minutes, the merchant came out of the room with a small white vile in his hand. Rapunzel stood up from her seat and went over to the merchant who handed her the potion.

"This will make you feel better after you take it," the merchant said. "But first, you have to wait at least fifteen minutes before you can take the potion."

"Thank you," Rapunzel smiled, placing the vile in one of her pockets. "How much do I owe you?"

"Fifteen gold pieces," the merchant answered.

After Rapunzel paid the merchant, she suddenly remembered that she never asked him about Elsa. "Have you seen this woman? She's this tall with brown hair and eyes. Did she come by here by some chance?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen her," the merchant answered, shaking his head. "Maybe you should explore more of the city again. She could be waiting for you somewhere."

"Where would we go?" asked Olaf.

"We'll head back to the town square," Rapunzel declared.

* * *

After fifteen minutes, they reached the town square and just when Rapunzel was about to take the potion, she saw that something was different. There was a large crowd gathered around about something and there were guards all over, asking people questions. Had something happened?

"What's going on over there?" asked Olaf.

"I don't know," said Rapunzel, putting the potion into one of her pockets. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Maybe we can ask them if they saw Elsa? Olaf, you go look over there."

Olaf went over towards where women were washing and hanging their laundry on a clothesline that towered over Rapunzel, Pascal, and the bystanders in the area. Rapunzel smiled as she watched Olaf jumping to grab the clothesline in hopes of swinging on it.

"This looks like fun!" Olaf laughed as he tried to reach the clothesline. "I want to swing it."

Rapunzel chuckled as she watched Olaf try to reach it. The clothesline was so close to her head that she could grab it if she wanted to. Pascal climbed onto her arm and into her palms where he peered up at his best friend. Rapunzel smiled down at him and he chattered. "Someone will help us find Elsa, Pascal," Rapunzel assured.

"There she is!" a deep male voice yelled.

When Rapunzel peered up, her smile faded away when she saw that the guards were racing over towards her and the crowd was muttering and backing away from her in fear which made her feel uncomfortable. Right when the guards reached her, they came to a halt.

"Hey, have you seen—" Rapunzel queried.

One of the guards grabbed her hands and took out a pair of handcuffs. "You are under arrest for the murder of Professor Duke," he said.

"What?!" Rapunzel gasped with a perplexed expression. Did he just say she'd killed someone? She would never do such a thing! Why would they think it was her?! She hadn't done anything! She, Olaf, and Pascal just wandered around the town! She doesn't even know anyone with the name Professor Duke! Was this some kind of a joke? "What are you talking about?! I didn't do it! I don't even know him! This has got to be a mistake!"

"Nice try," scoffed the guard. "Someone said they even saw you kill him!"

"WHAT?!" Rapunzel shouted frantically. Who said that she'd killed someone?! She didn't kill anybody and who would say that they saw her kill someone?!

The guard locked her handcuffs and was just about to put away the key. "Now let's-OW!" Pascal had bit his hand. He took the key from him and jumped back on Rapunzel's shoulder.

Suddenly they heard the sound of a rope snapping above them and the laundry fell all over everyone including the guards. Rapunzel quickly threw off a jacket and darted away from the area. She noticed Olaf, who was standing there with the end of the clothesline. His twig arms were separated from his body and were clutched on to the rope. Apparently, when he'd finally grabbed the clothesline, it broke and fell on everyone. As she was trying to unlock the handcuffs, she gestured to follow her, which he did after quickly getting his arms back on his body.

"I'm sorry!" Olaf panted, trying to keep up with her. "I didn't mean to break the clothesline! I just wanted to swing on it!"

Rapunzel actually was thankful that Olaf had done that. If he hadn't, the guards would've taken her into custody. "Don't be sorry, Olaf!"

"What is going on?" asked Olaf. "What do we do now?"

"We—"

"Get her!" the guards yelled.

Rapunzel gasped as she glanced over her shoulder and saw that the guards had taken the fallen laundry off them and were chasing after her. Rapunzel ordered Olaf to stay close to her as they dashed further into the city with the guards racing behind them. Unfortunately, she wasn't going as fast as she normally would because she was trying to unlock the handcuffs and, to make matters worse, there were still people in the middle of the road, walking home. She almost ran into a man who was carrying bread and Olaf was trying his best not to run into anyone. Rapunzel's heart started beating with fright as she heard the guards coming closer to them.

A woman opened her window with a large bucket of water from a tub and was getting ready to pour it out. Pascal peeked up and gasped as he saw the woman was just about to pour the bucket. He chattered to Rapunzel and he took the key from her and tried to unlock the handcuffs as his best friend just kept running. Rapunzel sighed in relief as Pascal successfully unlocked the handcuffs as the woman poured the water out the window. Just in time, Rapunzel threw off the handcuffs and ran faster. The water came on most of the guards soaking them and making them slip. Some guards noticed that and went around the wet area to try to catch Rapunzel.

Rapunzel was able to run faster with her arms swinging but she still hadn't gotten away from them just yet. Pascal hung onto her shoulder and Olaf was trying his best to catch up with her. Two men were coming out of a bakery carrying a tall wedding cake. Rapunzel gasped as she saw that she was just about to run into them. She quickly slid under it and ran faster. Just then she saw that there were men loading barrels onto a wagon. One of the men dropped a barrel and it started to come over towards Olaf.

"OLAF, LOOK OUT!" she shouted.

Olaf gasped as he saw the barrel coming towards him. Right when the barrel reached him, he jumped. The barrel ran over to the men with the cake and knocked them down, sending the cake flying in the air. The barrel went over a ramp and smashed as soon as it hit the ground, spilling wine all over. The guards slipped and fell on the ground and then the cake fell all over them.

Without looking back, Rapunzel and Olaf raced further into the city with Pascal hanging onto Rapunzel's shoulder.

* * *

After a long while, they were finally out of the city and were on a road in the middle of nowhere with nothing but puddles on the ground. Out of breath, they sat down on the ground, taking deep breaths while they waited to get their strength back.

"We lost them," said Olaf, catching his breath.

With little energy that she had left from running, Rapunzel forced herself on her feet and paced, muttering to herself. She couldn't believe what had just transpired.

"No, no, this isn't good," Rapunzel murmured, shaking her head violently. "I didn't do it. Why do they think it was me?"

"Why were they arresting you?" asked Olaf. "What happened?"

"They think I killed somebody!" yelled Rapunzel.

"But you didn't kill anybody!" Olaf denied.

"Exactly!" Rapunzel squealed. "They even said that someone saw me! This is insane! I would never do such a thing!"

"Why didn't you tell them?" asked Olaf.

"I did but they didn't believe me!" said Rapunzel. She gasped as she paused again with fright, shaking her head. "Oh no! Now they're after me! I'm a wanted fugitive! Oh my gosh!" Rapunzel coughed violently. Pascal climbed into her pocket and took out the small white vile. So much had already happened that Rapunzel had already forgotten about it. "I forgot all about it. Thank goodness, I didn't lose it. Thank you, Pascal."

Rapunzel gently took the vile from Pascal and she hesitated before she took off the lid and drank the potion. After she took it, she saw that Olaf and Pascal had noticed something and were staring straight at her. "What is it?"

"What happened to your hair?" asked Olaf.

"What do you mean?"

"Your hair's a different color now."

Rapunzel stared into a puddle and saw that he was right. Her short brown hair was now blonde. She stared in debrief as she ran her fingers through her blonde pixie cut. "How did this happen?"

"Didn't you say you used to have long blonde hair?" asked Olaf.

"Yes, twice," Rapunzel replied. "How is it blonde again? Was there something in the potion?"

"Does this mean that your hair's magical again?" Olaf wondered.

"I don't know," Rapunzel responded. "I wish that I could ask the merchant what was in the potion."

Olaf looked back with a worried look. "I wish that Elsa was here with us. I hope she will find us soon."

"Oh no," Rapunzel cried as she cupped her face and paced again. They were now separated from each other and the worst part was that they have no idea where her cousin was. "This can't be good. How will Elsa find us now? Oh, dear."

"You don't think she got arrested, do you?"

"I don't think so," Rapunzel doubted. "I hope. But to be honest, it looked like it was just me they're after so Elsa's more likely safe."

Rapunzel stared back at the city in the distance. She had to admit that Elsa's plan had not worked. The guards were now after her and she was now separated from her cousin. The guards would be looking for her and would even leave the city. Eventually, they could even start looking for her in other countries.

"Olaf, Pascal," said Rapunzel. "We can't stay here."

"Alright," said Olaf. "We'll wait for Elsa and then we'll leave."

Rapunzel felt a tear coming from her eye. She was kicking at herself for saying this. "We can't wait for Elsa," she cried. "We must leave now."

Olaf's eyes widened and he gasped. "No! We can't do that!" he shook his head violently. "Elsa won't know where we're at! We can't leave without her!"

"I'm sorry, guys," Rapunzel apologized. Pascal chattered to Rapunzel. "But we don't have a choice. The guards will be coming here soon and we can't be around by then, we must get as far as we can. Maybe we could find a way to get back to Arendelle or Corona. But I am sorry. We have to leave without Elsa."

"What would she do?" asked Olaf. "We don't leave friends behind!"

"It isn't like that, Olaf," Rapunzel sniffed. "We don't have a choice. Heck, we haven't even seen her since we arrived. Who knows where she could be? It's me they're after. Don't worry, Elsa will be alright. She'll figure out what's going on and then she'll try to fix it. She'll continue with her plan. She's smart. She'll find Lord Graham. He'll help her and then she and my parents will find a way to help us."

"Are you sure?" asked Olaf.

"I don't know, but I hope so," Rapunzel reassured, drying her tears. "My parents are king and queen of Corona and Elsa's the ruler of her own country. They will help us."

Rapunzel glanced back at the city and over to a path. She let out a breath as Pascal hung on her shoulder while Olaf stood next to her. "Alright," she sighed. "On a count of three, we'll start running." She let out a breath. "One. Two. THREE!"

As fast as lighting, Rapunzel and Olaf darted away from the area while Pascal hung onto Rapunzel's shoulder. The many thoughts on Rapunzel's mind made her run faster. She wanted to get as far away as she could. She didn't know why they thought she had killed someone. She couldn't imagine how Eugene would react if he found out. She hated the idea of leaving Elsa behind but they didn't have a choice. She hoped that someone would help them.

The one thought that haunted Rapunzel the most: someone had framed her and she was now a wanted fugitive on the run.


	4. Chapter 4: An Uninvited Guest

A ship was sailing towards a nearby city. The sailors were preparing to dock the ship with every strength that they had. It was a surprise that the ship was making it back to the country just in time. The sailors didn't want to face Baron Rupert, therefore they were relieved that they had made it on time.

The captain had just given two of the sailors an order when a door slammed open and the young princess of Arendelle raced on deck with Maximus at her side. Anna's dress was very similar to the dress she'd worn at Elsa's coronation last year except this gown was dark pink and the sleeves were long. Her braided bun was at the nape of her neck.

"Maximus, we're finally here!" Anna cheered, jumping up and down.

Anna felt the warm breeze and heard seagulls in the distance. She closed her eyes and smiled big as she exhaled the sea air and listened to the waves gently hitting the ship. She felt the ship moving up and down, making her more excited for adventure by the minute.

Anna opened her eyes and giggled. She saw that Eugene and Kristoff were having a conversation with each other with Sven nearby. She darted over towards the railing, knocking over some sailors that were getting the ship ready to dock. Her eyes widen as she squealed right when she reached the railing as the view of Beliville appeared in front of her.

"We're here!" Anna rejoiced as she wrapped her arms around Kristoff, nearly knocking him over. "We're finally here!"

"Come down, Anna," Kristoff chuckled. Anna laughed and wrapped her arms around Sven, nearly knocking him over as well. "I know you're excited, but you need to calm down."

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it," Anna squealed. She took a deep breath and peered back at the country. "It almost reminds me of Arendelle."

"I always loved this view!" Eugene smiled. He laid his hands on the railing and let out a sigh. Maximus noticed that his hands were on the railing and shook his head. "Yes, Max, I remember what happened on the cargo ferry," he groaned. He spun back to the view of the country with a large smile on his face. "Ah, this brings back memories!"

"Why am I not surprised?!" Rupert's voice asked sarcastically. The group turned and saw that Rupert had just arrived on deck. He was dressed in his red suit with his hair neatly combed. Anna noticed that he had an owl pin on his jacket. The owl was the same one that was imprinted on the banner. "What are you up to this time, Ryder? Planning to steal another piece of my wife's jewelry, are you?"

"My lord, I am no longer a criminal," Eugene groaned. He gestured to his uniform. "As you can see from my uniform, I am captain of the guard back in Corona and I am technically royalty by both marriage and birth."

Anna smiled as the view of the bay came closer, her hands clenching on the railing. She couldn't wait to get in the county. Tons of questions came into her mind as she smelled the ocean air. What would Beliville be like? Would she meet new people? Would this foreign place be exciting?

"We're here!" Anna rejoiced, jumping up and down. The ship was coming towards the dock and Anna could see that Beliville had a huge village. with a large city behind it. "Wow!" she hollered. "I can't believe we're getting closer to the docks!"

"Beliville Bay," Eugene and Rupert both added at once.

"Beliville Bay," Anna murmured. "I'll definitely remember that. So, Eugene, how did you know?"

"Don't you remember?" Rupert said as he gave Eugene an annoyed look. "He is wanted here."

"I _was_ a wanted thief," Eugene corrected.

Rupert's face turned red as he stomped over to Eugene. "Well in my book, you are still wanted in this country regardless of your status. If you weren't coming here to represent Corona for your wife, I would have you arrested in a heartbeat! You stole my wife's necklace and I believe that you should pay for the consequences."

Overwhelmed, Anna leaned closer to the sea as she watched the ship dock at Beliville Bay. The next chapter in her life was about to begin and she was eager to explore the strange country. Just like she promised Elsa, Anna was determined to represent Arendelle and show her country's support of magic.

As Rupert was demanding one of the sailors fetch his horse for him, Anna, Kristoff, Eugene, Sven, and Maximus went over to the sailor with the gangplank. Anna smiled as she peered at Beliville. As soon as the sailor brought the gangplank down, Anna raced down.

"This is so ex—" She accidently ran into a sailor who nearly fell into the water. "Sorry!" She sprinted towards the barrels and stopped right when she reached the center of the town. She noticed that some of the citizens were giving her puzzled looks but she didn't mind. "This is amazing! Beliville is beautiful!"

Anna kept jumping up and down. How she wished that Elsa and Rapunzel were there with her! They would be enjoying this city as well. Kristoff, Eugene, Maximus, and Sven got off the gangplank and went over to Anna. She raced over to Kristoff with a large smile on her face as a sailor gave Rupert his horse.

"You should've waited for us," Kristoff laughed. "You've never been here before."

"But I can't help it!" Anna beamed. From what she saw of Beliville, it was beautiful and exciting and she wished that her trip here were longer. This is the first time I'm in a new place! Do you think that we should explore the kingdom? I want to see more of it!"

"I am glad that you are so interested in my country," Rupert simpered. Rupert expressed his gratitude to the sailor. "If it doesn't rain later, you are welcome to take a proper tour of Beliville. As long as someone is watching this scoundrel like a hawk."

Eugene was just about to make a tart comment but refrain himself instead, knowing that regardless, Rupert would be discourteous and adamant about him. He came over on Maximus and got on him as Rupert climbed on to his horse. Kristoff and Anna came over to Sven.

"After you, miss." Kristoff smiled.

"Why thank you, sir." Anna smiled back as her boyfriend helped her on to Sven. Kristoff then got on his reindeer and was seated right in front of Anna. Rupert kicked his horse and the group started to follow behind him.

"Princess Anna." Rupert grinned. "I'm sure my fellow Belivillians would be pleased about your interest in our country."

* * *

For the longest time, the town looked very similar to Arendelle. Like in Arendelle, there were many houses in the residential area. The buildings even shared the same colors and sizes. The courtyard almost looked identical to the one back home. Then, all at once, the town became nothing like she had ever seen before.

"Wow," Anna said. "We are standing on a bronze road and all of the buildings are yellow and white."

"We are standing in the town square," Rupert explained. "This area looks like this because it is Beliville's way of honoring the great Vlad Moonstormer."

"Vlad Moonstormer?" Anna asked with an arched eyebrow. "Who was that?"

"He was the one who discovered Beliville two hundred years ago," Rupert explained. "He was rumored to be an expert in anything related to magic."

"Okay, what does that have to do with him discovering Beliville?" Eugene asked. "And how does that explain the colors of the town square?"

Rupert gave Eugene a sour look before he shook his head and moved on. "The colors of this town square were the colors of his outfit when he declared this land. When Vlad discovered Beliville, no one else was there with him to discover it. He said that he had built Beliville with his own two hands which led to a rumor that he had secretly practiced magic."

"If he was magical," Anna began, "why wouldn't he want to admit it?"

"In all of the years that he lived," Rupert continued, "the world feared magic. He was born in the Northern Isles, which were against magic. The politicians that are currently in charge now are split in half over their belief in magic, but the majority of the citizens still fear magic. They have a strong dislike for magic and peasants."

Anna's eyes dimmed. "Well, that's horrible." This all reminded her of Elsa's fear with her powers and couldn't understand why the world would disapprove of anyone powerful. It made her sad that anyone who was that powerful would be considered an outcast from the world.

"That is why Emperor Michael is changing the world," Rupert explained. "He believes that we are all equal and is doing everything he can to make that happen."

"How do you know so much about the emperor?" asked Anna. "Have you met him before?"

"I did once," Rupert confirmed.

"What was he like?"

"He was a very kind person," Rupert answered. "He had very interesting views on the world and very well spoken. I may not agree with some of his practices, but it's safe to say that he is very fit to rule the empire."

"Will he attend the dinner party?" Kristoff asked.

"We invited him but he could not come," Rupert answered. "It's a shame because he is doing so much for the world.

* * *

After the group took off again, Anna's mouth dropped as they finally arrived at Rupert's home. She stared in disbelief at the five-story mansion with six hundred other rooms and couldn't help but be fascinated.

"Your place is amazing," she said, gawking at the building.

Eugene's eyes widened. "Now, this definitely brings back memories."

"What a surprise," Rupert muttered sarcastically.

"Excuse me?"

"None of your concern, Ryder."

"Rupert stinks," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven.

Rupert glanced over his shoulder with an annoyed look as Kristoff impersonated Sven. Anna tried her best to cover her laugh as the baron climbed off his horse, glaring at her boyfriend. "What was that, boy?!"

"It was nothing." Kristoff smirked. He put his arms behind his back and whistled innocently. As soon as Rupert furrowed his brows and craned towards him, Kristoff nudged a thumb at Sven and shook his head. "Sven, you really need to keep your thoughts to yourself."

"You should tell that to my father," Eugene laughed, climbing off Maximus.

Kristoff climbed off of Sven and came over to help Anna. Anna smiled and shook her head at him.

"No thanks, Kristoff," she chirped, sliding off Sven. "I can do this on my—"

The Princess plopped right into a dark puddle. She was soaked in her drenched dress and shoes. They had just arrived at the manor and she already ruined her dress and shoes, which was no surprise. Anna stood up and sighed at her outfit. She remembered that a few days ago, right before she'd finished packing her things, Gerda and Elsa warned her not to ruin her dress. Of course, the three of them had known that Anna's dress wouldn't survive the evening.

When the group followed Rupert up to the door, Anna was able to have a better look at the yard and see that it was three acres of land with a garden nearby. While Rupert knocked on the door, Anna glanced over at three statues lined up against the mansion wall. She couldn't recognize the statues but she knew that Elsa and possibly Rapunzel would.

The door opened and a plump butler stepped out into the yard. "Ah, my lord. I hope everything went well in Arendelle."

"It has," Rupert spoke.

The butler noticed Anna standing right behind the baron and his eyes widened at her ruined dress and shoes. "This must be the queen. How do you do, your majesty?"

"Actually, I'm her younger sister." Anna smiled. "I am Princess Anna of Arendelle."

As Rupert explained to his butler about Elsa's absence, Sven noticed something in the garden. He couldn't tell what it was but he could make it out to be a see-through silhouette. He tapped his hoof on Kristoff's shoulder and began braying.

"What is it, Sven?" Kristoff asked. His best friend brayed at him again causing the rest of the group to turn to him. "Look, you know I can't understand you when you talk like that."

Sven brayed and pointed his hoof towards the garden. The group peered at the garden. There was nothing but flowers all over.

"You're right, Sven." Anna smiled. "That is a beautiful garden. Maybe we can explore it after dinner."

Rupert's smirk appeared on his face and he turned to Kristoff. "You know, boy, I am very impressed with your reindeer. He seems to admire the garden. Evelyn would be very happy to hear that."

"Oh, she loves flowers?" Anna beamed. Rupert nodded. "What's her favorite—?"

Sven shook his head and he tried to persuade the group into following him to no avail. He tried to keep an eye out for the mysterious figure, but it was nowhere in his sight.

"Sven," Kristoff comforted, patting him on the shoulder. "There's nothing in the garden. After dinner, we can explore it when we have dinner."

Sven frowned at his best friend, shaking his head.

"He probably saw a carrot in the garden, Kristoff," Eugene suggested. "They used to grow them here."

"That's right," Rupert groaned, his eyes shifting to him. "You would know that, _Ryder_."

Right when Eugene was about to protest, Sven brayed at Kristoff again.

"Everything's fine, Sven," Kristoff reassured. "There's nothing out of the ordinary."

As Kristoff and Anna comforted Sven and Eugene squabbled with Rupert, Maximus noticed something in the garden. Right when he was going to investigate, the group followed the butler into the manor. After Maximus and Sven watched the group enter the manor, Maximus tapped on Sven and signaled him to head back out into the garden with him.

They trotted over to the garden and when they came to a halt, Maximus pointed at a footprint in the garden. Sven peered up at the horse and nodded. They looked around the area for any sign of an intruder. Just then, their ears moved at the sound of a branch breaking and footsteps rustling in the grass nearby. They turned to each other and decided to investigate.

* * *

As the group followed Rupert and the butler in the long hallway, Anna couldn't help but peered around the area. She wanted to stop but she knew that they were being taken to meet the baroness and the other guests.

"So, Rupert?" asked Anna. She bumped right into a suit of armor and the armor spilled everywhere. Anna quickly cleaned up the mess before they continued in the hallway. "Do you have any children?"

"I have a son but he will not be attending," Rupert answered.

"Why not?" asked Kristoff.

"He has important matters to attend to," Rupert spoke. "And I wasn't talking to you, boy!"

Anna was just about to teach him a lesson, but her boyfriend gestured for her to leave it be. She folded her arms with a sigh, shaking her head. The reminder of the dinner party forced its way into her head as she planted a forced smile on her face.

"Why can't your son come, Rupert?" Anna asked.

"My son, James went to Mirahton," Rupert answered. "There were some serious impediments that needed to be taken care of."

Anna noticed that there were flower vases all over the hallway. Every single one of them had snowdrops in them. "Wow." She smiled. "I didn't know you two were big on snowdrops. It must be Evelyn's favorite flower."

"We had expected Queen Elsa to attend," Rupert explained. "We figured that we would have snowdrops since it's her favorite flower."

"Actually, her favorite flowers are purple heathers," Anna corrected.

"Well," Rupert spoke, "I guess we learn something new every day."

The butler opened the door and the group went into the parlor. Anna saw that the other guests were crowding around a white grand piano. The music died down and the crowd gave a loud applause. After a moment, the crowd went back to their business and broke away, revealing a tall, wafer thin middle-aged woman sitting on the bench.

As Kristoff and Anna followed Rupert to the woman, a servant with a tray of champagne tripped and the glasses fell all over the floor. Eugene bent down and helped the servant clean up the mess as everyone else in the room turned to the scene. Rupert and the woman weren't happy with the champagne being spilled. Kristoff, Anna, and the other guests offered to help but Eugene and the servant told them that they're fine. While Eugene and the servant continued to clean up the champagne, the guests went back to their business and Rupert, Kristoff, and Anna went over to the woman.

"Ah, Evelyn." Rupert smiled as he approached the woman. He bent down and gave her a peck on the lips. "That was beautiful!"

"Thank you very much, darling." Evelyn blushed, rising from her bench. As Anna was able to get a closer look, she was surprised that this was Rupert's wife. By the way that she dressed, she could pass for a queen or even an empress. There was no denying that this woman had a great sense of style. Evelyn turned to the butler as she crossed her arms, revealing her bejeweled hands. "Gilbert! Would you be a dear and head to the kitchen to see if dinner is ready?"

"Yes, my lady."

While Gilbert left the room with his hands folded behind his back, Evelyn turned and noticed Anna and Kristoff. When Rupert noticed that Eugene wasn't nearby, he glanced around the room, thinking that Eugene had snuck off until he saw him making jokes with a servant. He sighed and stomped over to him.

"Nice to meet you, my lady," Anna bubbled. She attempted to do a curtsey, but she ended up falling down instead. As Kristoff helped her up, Evelyn grimaced at Anna's dress and shoes. Anna stood up with a chuckle. "I am Princess Anna Arnadalr of Arendelle."

"Charmed, your highness," Evelyn commented, staring at her with cold eyes, which made Anna feel uneasy. Just as Anna was about to open her mouth, Evelyn turned to Kristoff and eyed him from head to toe. "I don't think I've seen you before. How long have you been married?"

Anna and Kristoff shot a look at each other before they chortled. Evelyn remained emotionless.

"Actually, my lady," Kristoff laughed. Anna threw her head back and snorted, "You see we're not exactly married."

"You either _are _married or you're _not_," Evelyn corrected. Anna and Kristoff's smiles faded away. What was up with this woman? "Which is it?"

Anna and Kristoff locked eyes for a quick moment and turned back to Evelyn. "Okay…we're not," Kristoff answered.

"He's my boyfriend," Anna explained. "We've been together for a year now. How long have you and Rupert—"

Evelyn's eyes widened and she pointed. "It's him!" she hollered. Anna and Kristoff turned to see that Rupert and Eugene had just approached them. "It's Flynn Ryder!"

The entire room turned and stared at the scene. Eugene, Kristoff, and Anna stood there, speechless.

"Nice to see you too," Eugene sighed.

"My lady, he is no longer a criminal," Kristoff clarified. Anna peered at the other guests that were staring at them and back to her boyfriend. "He was actually pardoned from Corona. He became captain of the guard and married princess Rapunzel. He was even born a prince!"

"Oh, really?" Evelyn challenged with an arched eyebrow. "From what kingdom?"

"The Dark Kingdom," Eugene confirmed. He delved into his pockets and revealed two pendants. One was the crest of the sun and the other was the moon. "I am King Edmund's son."

"I didn't know King Edmund had a son," commented a guest from the crowd.

Rupert noticed that the other guests were staring at Eugene. "Everything is fine, ladies and gentlemen. We do not need the guards. Just get back to entertaining yourselves until dinner." The guests started to go back to their routines and Rupert turned to his wife, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Evelyn," he huffed. "He came here as a guest."

"Rupert!" Evelyn fumed. She glared at Eugene, and then peered back to her husband. "Flynn Ryder shouldn't be here! He and his friend stole my necklace!"

"I know, darling," Rupert sighed, shaking his head. "If it makes you happy, I'll be keeping an eye on him during dinner. He'll be seated right next to me." Evelyn clicked her tongue. "Evelyn, I'm not thrilled with this either, but he is a guest."

"Alright," Evelyn sighed. "Where is Queen Elsa? Why isn't she here?"

The baron and baroness strolled over to the corner of the room as Rupert explained to Evelyn about Elsa's absence and made tart comments about Eugene and Kristoff. Anna could see why this couple would be a match made in heaven. She wondered what Elsa had thought of them when they'd met at her coronation last summer.

Just then, the doors opened and all of the guests turned to see Gilbert with his hands behind his back. "Dinner is served."

* * *

In the dining room, all of the guests were seated at a very long table with fine essentials and dinnerware placed in front of them. Anna was seated near Evelyn at one end of the table right next to a large fireplace.

"Gilbert!" Evelyn called. "Gilbert!"

The butler raced over to the end of the table with his toupee nearly falling off. Anna couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Fetch me a goblet of wine!"

"Yes, my lady," Gilbert spoke.

He quickly left to get a bottle. Shortly after Gilbert returned with the wine, Rupert had clicked his spoon against his goblet. Everyone grabbed their glasses and rose from their seats.

"I would like to propose a toast to our emperor," Rupert announced. "Before his time, the world saw magic as a curse until he showed us that we are all equal whether magical or not. We are proud that we have supported him from the beginning and we are looking forward to the future of our beloved empire. To Emperor Michael Rubavian of Goldenpolis!"

Everyone rose their goblets in the air. "To Emperor Michael Rubavian of Goldenpolis!" Shortly after everyone sat down in their seats, the servants began bringing out plates to the guests.

Anna stared down at her bowl of artsoppa. Out of all of the meals to serve for the dinner party, it just happened to be her least favorite soup. If only there was a dog nearby so she could sneakily give the bowl to it. She stared at her reflection through the goblet next to her bowl. She planted a forced smile as she grabbed the spoon. She grimaced as soon as she felt the thick pea soup on her tongue. After she swallowed the soup, she had a scowl on her face.

"Your highness," Evelyn scolded. Anna's eyes widen. "Did I actually see a scowl? I am horrified."

"No, my lady," Anna chuckled. "I was just making funny faces." She attempted to make a silly face to which Evelyn frowned. This woman really needed to have a sense of humor. "Is there something that makes you laugh?"

Evelyn stayed in her seat, staring at Anna with cold eyes. Anna took it as a sign that she doesn't like her very much. Evelyn blinked before she continued on with her soup and started a conversation with a duchess who was sitting next to her.

Anna peered around the table. While everyone else seems to be having a pleasant conversation with each other, she was bored. She couldn't believe that out of everyone to be seated with, she had to be right by Evelyn. She couldn't stand listening to her preach to someone about their manners. She stared back at Evelyn and the duchess. Maybe they were bored too?

"I turned nineteen two months ago." Anna smiled as her eyes lit up. The duchess and the baroness frowned at her but she ignored them. "My sister threw a big party—"

"Excuse me but we were not talking to you!" the duchess snapped.

"For a princess, she doesn't have good manners," Evelyn huffed. "Manners matter, your highness."

"At least I don't take everything so seriously!" Anna huffed. She laid her head in her hands and sighed as she slouched in her seat. She couldn't believe that this had to be the first dinner party that she was finally invited to. "Whatever."

"I beg your pardon!" Evelyn gasped. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Anna sighed as she peered down at her soup. Her eyes fluttered and she remembered that she had stayed up way too late the previous night. Without thinking, Anna stretched her arms and let out a large yawn.

"Your highness!' Evelyn scolded.

Anna lifted her head and glanced at her. "What?"

"I am appalled that you just yawned at the dinner table," Evelyn said, shaking her head. "Were you not given etiquette lessons?"

"I didn't mean to, Evelyn," Anna sneered, on the edge of losing her patience. She was kicking at herself for yawning but Evelyn still had no right to be correcting her. "I was just tired."

"You were tired of being here?"

"No. I was just tired! I didn't get any sleep last night."

Evelyn rose her eyebrow as she took a sip from her soup. "You should be lucky your sister's the queen of your country. I can't imagine you ruling over Arendelle."

"Is there a problem over there?" Rupert called out.

Evelyn planted a phony smile on her face but it was obvious that it was forced. "No, darling. Nothing at all." The baroness peered around the area for a second. "Now where's Gilbert? Gilbert!"

Gilbert raced back over to the baroness. "Yes, my lady?"

"Can you please bring me my fan?" Evelyn asked. "I am getting hot in here!"

The butler raced out of the room. How could anyone treat their servants that way? They are just as human as anyone else.

"You know, my lady," Anna growled through her teeth. "If I was queen, I wouldn't boss my servants around."

Evelyn spun to the princess with an arched eyebrow and a sneer. "I beg your pardon, your highness?"

"You heard me, Evelyn," Anna snarled. She slowly rose from her seat, fingers wrapped around her bowl. "It's not nice to mistreat your servants and use them like toys! Elsa doesn't treat our servants like that. Our parents never mistreated our servants. I think that you should respect Gilbert!"

"Oh, really?" Evelyn challenged as she crossed her arms. Some of the guests started to turn to the scene. "Well, I think that you should respect me!"

"I'm not the one bossing people around!" Anna fumed. "You should take a page from my sister's book and treat people with respect!"

Without warning, Anna threw her least favorite soup into Evelyn's face, soup slopping out of the bowl. The baroness shrilled as she rose from her seat, drawing the other guests to the scene. Her face and bodice were soaked with peas. Kristoff's eyes widened and rushed over to his girlfriend. A stunned Rupert stayed in his seat while Eugene tried his best to cover his laugh. Evelyn growled and glared at the princess. She snatched her goblet and threw her wine at Anna but she and Kristoff ducked in time and the wine hit another duchess instead. The wine splashed out of the cup, sending a spray of red onto the white tablecloth. The duchess sat in her seat all dumbfound while her husband grabbed his soup and threw it at Evelyn and the soup slopped out of the bowl. Evelyn screamed again while a prince and a lord berated the husband for his action. Soon after, with the exception of Rupert, the guests all broke into a violent argument with each other. Half of them sided with Evelyn while the rest sided with Anna and the duchess' husband.

* * *

Maximus and Sven had been searching the yard for a while only to find nothing and thought that maybe they were just overreacting. They both sighed and decided to find something to do when they heard the sound of footsteps coming towards the manor. They both gasped and raced back over to the front of the manor.

As soon as they came to a halt, they saw a window open and a see-through silhouette climbed into the manor shortly before shutting the window. Without hesitation, Maximus and Sven darted over to the manor and both banged their hooves on the door with all of their might. When they finally broke the door open, they raced inside the manor, hoping that they could reach the others before something happened.

* * *

Rupert angrily rose from his seat. "ENOUGH!" he roared slamming his fist on the table. The entire table was silenced and turned to the baron with open mouths.

Rupert crossed his arms. "This dinner party was meant to honor our emperor," Rupert snarled. "I expected everything to go by smoothly and I am disappointed! You are a disgrace to the emperor and your kingdoms!"

All of a sudden, Rupert started floating in the air. Everyone in the room gasped as Rupert began to panic. Then he was jerked to the right and then to the left in the air.

"What is this?!" he demanded.

"Rupert!" Evelyn shouted. "Rupert!"

Rupert suddenly swooped higher in the air, heading towards the ceiling. The entire room stared at this predicament.

"Rupert, where exactly do you think you're going!" Evelyn demanded. "Come back down this instant!"

Rupert swooped further up towards the ceiling. It appeared that he was going to hit his head against it until he paused, floating in the air. A moment later, he plummeted towards the table. As he was falling, everyone rose from their seats and spread their arms out, hoping to catch the baron. Right when he was going to hit the table, he again paused in the air.

"Great Scott," Rupert screamed. "Somebody get me down!"

Kristoff and Eugene raced over to Rupert but, right when they were about to grab him, the baron swooped up and began flying around the room in midair again.

A tall lord rolled his sleeves and headed over to the long table. "Don't worry, my lord. I'll get you down!"

"What are you doing?" Anna asked.

"I'm going to catch him, Princess," the lord answered. "Everyone else stay where you are." He stood up on the table and slowly began to walk towards the center. "Get ready in case he falls."

The lord kept his eyes on Rupert as he slowly walked on the table, trying his best to avoid stepping on things and struggling to maintain his balance. The entire room watched the lord, hoping that he would catch the baron. Just then, Rupert scooped towards the table. The lord was just about to grab him when he took a step forward and tripped over a candlestick. He fell forward, breaking all of the dishware and cups. Some of the other guests rushed over to the lord, asking if he was alright.

"We have to do something!" Anna yelled. "How could we get him down?!"

Just then the door slammed opened and everyone turned their heads to see Maximus and Sven standing in the hallway. They raced into the room, neighing and braying at everyone.

"What are they doing here?!" Evelyn yelled.

"They're trying to warn us!" Eugene yelled.

"What is it, guys?" Kristoff asked.

Suddenly, Rupert was dropped down and he plummeted into Kristoff's arms. Kristoff's eyes widened and he flinched. "Oh my god!" Kristoff yelled. "Are you alright, my lord?"

After Kristoff set Rupert down, the doors suddenly slammed behind Maximus and Sven and the fireplace went out. A grand duchess' loud scream was heard. For a long minute, the room was dead silent. Anna peered around the area to look for any trace of her boyfriend, her cousin, and her friends though the darkness but she wasn't able to.

"Kristoff?" she called. She was bemused by everything that had just happened and hoped that she was at least near her group. "Kristoff?"

"I'm here, Anna," Kristoff replied somewhere in the dark room.

"Alright," she said. "Let me just—"

"Everyone stay where you are!" Eugene called. "Is everyone alright?"

The entire room went into a murmur, which forced Anna to question her situation. What was going on? What are they going to do? Was this some sort of prank? How would Elsa handle this if she were here? What would Rapunzel do?

"Everyone remain calm!" Rupert shouted.

"How can we remain calm, Rupert?!" Evelyn shouted. "You were thrown into the air and it is dark in here! Gilbert! Light the fireplace!"

The entire room gasped as a small candle light appeared in the back of the room. Everyone stood in awe, not knowing what to do.

"Enough, Gilbert!" Evelyn said. "Oh, light the fireplace!"

"I am not Gilbert," a rich voice of a young male laughed. Evelyn suddenly screamed and all of the guests gasped before going into stillness again. "Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen. I am not here to harm anyone."

"Who said that?" asked Eugene.

Just then footsteps came towards the fireplace. A second later, the entire room lit up as the light was thrown into the fireplace. A young male dressed in a green cloak with the hood down, was standing next to it.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "I didn't mean to frighten anyone."

Evelyn screamed and fainted. The other guests turned to the baroness and then they shot curious gazes at the young male. A few guests rushed over to Evelyn and started to fan her.

"Scott Longton!" Rupert demanded of the young man with the rich voice. He marched over to Scott with his arms folded. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Wait, you know him?" asked Kristoff.

"Yes, boy," Rupert sighed. "For too long. He worked as one of my servants for seven years." He spun to Scott with a glare. "Was it really necessary for you to come in here and use your magic on me?!"

"Now, Rupert," Scott chuckled with a pointed finger. "You know how I am when you don't invite me to one of your parties, especially since I've done so much for you over the years."

"So, I reckon that it was you that caused all of the chaos in here?" a lord asked.

"Correct," said Scott. The room gasped as he floated in the air. As he flew, he wrapped his hands behind his neck as he lay on his back. "I used my magic to open a locked window and allow myself in." He waved his hand and restored all the dinnerware. The dishware and glassware all looked new.

"You're magical then," Anna said with her eyes widened. If only Elsa were there, she would have been thrilled that there was another person with magic. "You have powers."

Scott peacefully dove towards the ground and landed peacefully on his feet. "Not exactly. I can perform magic, but I am not magical myself."

"You must be a wizard," Kristoff said.

Scott smirked. He wiggled his fingers with a slight chuckle shortly before answering, "Correct. I have been a wizard since I was eighteen years old."

"Scott!" Rupert demanded. "Can you just tell me why are you here?! You have ruined my dinner party!"

"Since I worked for you a while ago, I have come to ask for a quid pro quo, my lord," Scott answered. "There is some kind of magical object that is rather valuable but it is unidentified."

"What do you mean unidentified?" Rupert snorted.

"It's literally unidentified, Rupert," Scott explained.

"Don't toy with me!" Rupert snapped.

"No, I'm serious, my lord," Scott answered. "No one knows what the unidentified object is. But it is very important. It was rumored to be created by Lord Demanitus, Zhan Tiri—before she betrayed the former—and Vlad Moonstormer."

"Lord Demanitus and Zhan Tiri!" Eugene gasped. The entire crowd gasped and whispered as they heard the names of the object's potential owners. Lord Demantius used magic for good while Zhan Tiri used dark magic. "Excuse me, Scott! Is the object used for good or not?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever it is, it's very important and someone has to find it. The future rests within the object."

"What does this have to do with me?!" Rupert snorted.

"The object is located somewhere in Bronzadelle," Scott answered. "I need someone to go to Bronzadelle and help me find the magical object. I figure that since I worked for you all of those years, you would return the favor and help me, especially since you have connections to certain countries."

Rupert walked over to Scott and placed his hand on his shoulder. "You know, Scott," he smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you to ask me. I would love to miss out on that opportunity. Thank you very much."

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Scott bleated. Rupert shook his head. "I don't believe it! After all I did for you, you still won't help me."

"You really expected me to help you after that mess you just pulled in here?" Rupert scoffed.

"You don't understand!" Scott fretted. "I need someone to help me! I am doing this for my younger brother!"

Anna's eyes dimmed as she heard him say that word. She knew how it felt to do anything to help out a sibling. She understood Scott's position perfectly.

"Scott," Rupert spoke. "You should be thanking me instead. You have plenty of money to take care of you and your brother. You were able pay for your tuition at the University of Peckville and, from what I've heard from one of the professors, your brother is doing perfectly fine. I've already done enough for you. I will not help you, Scott."

Anna didn't like what she was hearing. She was only in the same room with Scott but she could tell that he was eager to help his little brother and maybe even the future. Whatever this object was, it sounded like it was really valuable, especially since it was likely created by multiple sorcerers.

"But who will help me, my lord?!" Scott whined.

Anna stepped forward and raised her hand. "I'll help you find it!" Everyone was aghast as they turned to her with surprised expressions on their faces. "I volunteer to help you!"

"Anna?" asked Kristoff.

For a long moment, Scott was speechless. He quickly shook his head before clearing his throat. "You? You would do that?"

Anna nodded. "It is very kind of you to help your brother and I like to help you do that."

"Now, your highness," Rupert said as he rushed over to her. "I don't think you should go. In the years that Scott had worked for me, he was nothing but trouble. I think that it would be very dangerous for you to go."

"I can handle myself, my lord," Anna huffed. She raised her fists, causing Kristoff to chuckle. "I can take care of myself."

The entire room muttered just before Rupert cleared his throat. "I know you can. I remember how you dealt with that scoundrel back in Arendelle last year, but what about your sister? You just left Arendelle."

"Elsa would be very proud of me." Anna smirked.

"You would go on a trip by yourself?" Rupert asked.

"No," Kristoff called. He walked over to his girlfriend and placed his hand on her shoulder. Anna glanced at him with a smile. Sven came between the two of them and grinned. "Sven and I will go with her."

Rupert rubbed his chin before sighing. "I suppose that would do, but Bronzadelle is a very popular place for crime. The three of you may want to reconsider going there."

Maximus neighed and galloped over towards the group. He stood tall and smiled at Anna before he turned to Rupert.

"Max?" Anna smiled. Maximus nodded with a wink. "Yes, Max will help us!"

"That's not bad," Rupert said. "But—"

"Fine, I'll go too!" Eugene yelled with his arm in the air. The room turned to him. "Rapunzel would've done the same if she was here. Plus, I have been to Bronzadelle before."

"He's coming with you?!" Rupert said. "Now I don't—"

"Nah-ah-ah!" Anna shook her head, waving her finger at him. She had already made up her mind. There was nothing that Rupert could do that would force her to reconsider. "We are going and that's final!

Rupert sighed as he placed his hand on his eyes. "Very well. But how are you going to tell Queen Elsa and Princess Rapunzel?"

"Eugene could write a letter to her," Kristoff answered. Anna smiled at him and crossed her arms with an arched eyebrow. "Anna will write to Elsa."

"I suppose that will do," Rupert sighed. "You will spend the night here and write the letters. Now are you sure?"

"Yes," said Anna. "We will head to Bronzadelle first thing in the morning."

Right when Rupert was about to speak, Scott chimed in, looking to Anna. "Your highness, it is very important that you get to Deltiplen before you go to Bronzadelle."

Anna's eyes widened. "Wait, aren't you coming with us?"

"No, but I'll be meeting you in Bronzadelle. You'll have to get to Deltiplen without me."

"Why do I need to go there first?" Anna asked.

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "You'll find out for yourself when you get there," he said. He spun around from the group and stalked towards a window. "But since you volunteered, I'll be so kind to give you one small clue. If you go to Deltiplen, you'll find that a certain winning guess will reward you with a guide to Bronzadelle."

"What do you mean?"

Scott motioned his hand up and the window still moved up. He started to climb through the window. "Thank you and good luck!"

"Wait!"

Scott motioned his hand down and the window closed. The entire room stood in awe as they watched him fly as he transformed into a see-through silhouette. Evelyn rose up from the ground and stared at the guests staring at the window.

"What happened?" she asked. Everyone turned to look at her. "What did I miss?"

* * *

All of the guests left the manor early to return home until Anna, Kristoff, and Eugene were the only guests remaining. None of them were eager to stay for dessert. Anna couldn't decide on whether or not to pity Rupert, as his dinner party turned out to be a complete failure.

"Gilbert!" Evelyn called. The poor butler raced into the room with his hands folded behind his back. "Take the guests up to the guest bedrooms."

"Where's Sven and Maximus staying?" Anna asked.

"They will be staying in the stables," answered Rupert. "You will be able to receive them in the morning."

Kristoff started to head out towards the door. "I'll go out there."

"Don't be ridiculous, young man," Evelyn huffed. "You really think that you're sleeping out in the stables?"

"I'll be fine," Kristoff said.

Rupert glared at Eugene with an arched eyebrow. Eugene sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, my lord," he grumbled. "What did I do now?"

"I don't trust you," Rupert said as he narrowed his eyes. "Why should I let you sleep in my manor, knowing that you could slip into one of the rooms at any time to steal something? You should be guarded."

"You have got to be kidding me," Eugene groaned. "I told you a thousand times, I stopped being a criminal a long time ago. Did you not see my uniform?!"

"I don't care," Rupert barked. "I still don't trust you."

"Ouch," Eugene sighed.

"This is silly," Anna huffed. "Let him have a room in here!"

"For god's sake," Kristoff groaned. "Give him a room!"

"Your highness," Rupert addressed. "If he had robbed from your castle before, you would understand."

Eugene crossed his arms and craned in towards the baron. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll sleep out in the stables too. Maximus can guard me and make sure I don't get into any trouble. Happy?"

Rupert sighed and nodded shortly before Kristoff and Eugene started to make their way to the stables. Before Anna could respond, Gilbert had already lit a candle and started to take her to the guest rooms.

A small bit of light shone through the darkness as the butler and Anna ventured deeper into the long hallway. Anna couldn't see the hall very well but she could see the portraits of fancy art hanging on the wall as she went past them. Finally, Gilbert stopped in front of a door on the right and twisted the knob. "This will be your room, your highness."

Anna stepped further into the small room and saw that it actually was very nice. There was fine furniture, a small bed up against the wall with a wardrobe facing parallel and a wooden floor. The bedroom actually reminded her of her bedroom back in Arendelle. Right when Anna turned to thank the butler, Gilbert had shut the door and footsteps were walking away.

As Anna lay in bed, she couldn't help but replay the chaos of the dinner party over and over again in her head. Without a doubt, she'd remember that party as the disastrous dinner party. She had not had fun with it from the start. She couldn't help but wonder about Scott. Why would he try to have Rupert help him after all those years of being a servant? How had Rupert even met him? What was this magical object that Scott was seeking? Was it good or bad? Is it dangerous?

For the longest time, Anna just stared at the ceiling, repeating her thoughts over and over again until she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The sun rose in the morning dawn with sparrows flying around in the bright sky and a rooster waking up the entire town. Anna was asleep in the guest room. Her hair was messy and she was drooling. She was snoring. The bedsheets were so messy they were just about to fall off the bed. A knock came at the door.

"Your highness," a voice called through, and Anna turned over in her bed. The knock returned. "Princess Anna!" the voice snapped.

"Come back later!" Anna yawned.

Anna pulled the covers over her head as angry knocks pounded on the door. Suddenly the door opened and Evelyn burst in.

"Wake up, Princess Anna," she fumed.

Anna tossed over to the right side of the bed. "Wake me up later," she yawned, removing a piece of wet hair from her mouth.

"YOU MUST GET UP THIS INSTANT!" the baroness hollered. With no hesitation, she pulled the covers off the bed. "YOUR FRIENDS ARE WAITING FOR YOU DOWNSTAIRS!"

Anna rose up from her bed still sleepy. She thought that it was awfully early for Evelyn to be waking her up from a pleasant dream.

"Why are they waiting for me?" she asked, stretching her arms. She wiped the drool from her mouth, barely opening her eyes. "What's going on?"

Evelyn looked like she was going to explode. "LAST NIGHT, YOU VOLUNTEERED TO FIND THE UNIDENTIFLED MAGICAL OBJECT!"

Anna gasped as she suddenly recalled the events of the previous night. "Oh my god!" she yelled, jumping out of bed. "I forgot!"

She raced over to the wardrobe and start pulling out dresses and shoes. A shoe almost hit Evelyn in the head.

"Goodness gracious!" Evelyn growled as she ducked.

"Sorry!"

Anna grabbed a pair of boots and jumped in them. She pulled a lavender dress and slid it over her night gown.

"Your highness!"

Anna snatched a hat and placed it on her mussed hair. She slammed the door open as she raced out of the room. She raced through the hall and down the stairs with Evelyn chasing after her. Kristoff and Eugene were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs with Rupert.

"I'm ready to go!" Anna smiled as she spread her arms out.

Kristoff and Eugene stood there speechless, trying to hold their smirks. Rupert folded his arms with an arched eyebrow. Evelyn reached the bottom of the stairs, trying to catch her breath.

"Don't even think about it!" Evelyn snapped. "You are not going out like that!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kristoff and Eugene were waiting for Anna outside with Sven and Maximus. The door opened and out came Anna. She had put on a casual green dress with long sleeves and plaited her hair in braids.

"You coming now?" asked Eugene.

Anna skipped over to Kristoff and Sven. Rupert came over to the group as Kristoff helped Anna onto Sven and Eugene climbed onto Maximus.

"Now are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. Anna wondered why the baron seemed to be against them helping Scott. Was he afraid for their safety? "You know it's not too late to change your minds."

"We're still going," Anna chirped. She was confident that they could do this and, regardless, nothing would stop them. "Don't worry, Rupert. It won't be bad."

"Let's hope," Kristoff commented.

Rupert sighed. "Alright. You have me convinced that you already made your decisions. We will have the letters sent to Arendelle and Corona."

"Thank you."

"Good luck," Rupert said. As soon as he turned away from the group, he sighed as he heard Maximus and Sven trot away from his manor. "If all doesn't go well, I won't say I told you so."

The sun was bright in the air with the clouds surrounding it. As the group trotted through the town, residents were coming out of their homes, preparing for their daily duties. Anna smiled at Beliville, for it really was a lovely country. She wished that they were able to explore it but she couldn't think about that now. They were on a really important mission now.

"How long do you think it'll be before we get to Deltiplen?" asked Anna.

"Four hours," Eugene answered. Maximus raised his eyebrow at him and Sven chuckled. "How bold of you to think that, Maximus, but I am sorry to disappoint you. I am not wanted in Deltiplen. It was one of the few places that Lance and I robbed and got away with it."

"Really?" Kristoff said. "Why am I not surprised?"

While Kristoff and Eugene were having a conversation with each other, Anna couldn't help but think about Elsa. Although they possibly may be gone for a while longer, she was sure that her big sister would understand that she had volunteered to help someone. She would agree that it was the right thing to do. At least, she had Rapunzel and Olaf back with her in Arendelle, so she wouldn't be alone.


	5. Chapter 5: Pardon My Past

**Author's Note: My story is also based on the young adult book from Disney Publishing "**_**A Frozen Heart**_**". Everything is canon with that book except for one thing. I will explain it at the end of this chapter.**

* * *

"Help! Someone help me! Please!"

A young woman's calls disrupted the peaceful morning in a small town. The majority of the townspeople were barely waking up from their slumbers. Some of the citizens did notice the girl but once they saw that she was a beggar, they rolled their eyes and left. The girl continued to call out to no avail.

Finally, a door flew open in her peripheral vision and four people exited a small building. The small group noticed the girl and calmly approached her. One of the people suggested that they bring her into an inn and they calmly ushered her into the building.

The woman's eyes searched the area as the group brought her closer to an old, wooden chair and gently sat her down. The walls were recently painted and there was barely any furniture other than some tables and chairs. Some residents were seated at their tables, having their breakfasts.

"Alright!" a voice shouted before anyone had a chance to ask her anything. The group turned to see an old landlord entering the scene in utter silence. "What is going on here?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," a man answered. "This woman was calling out for help and we brought her inside."

The landlord furrowed his eyebrow. "What does she need help with? Is she lost?"

"We don't know," a woman answered. The girl's eyes shifted to the right and then to the left. "She was just in distress."

The residents nearby overheard the conversation and turned to the scene. While the landlord was addressing them in frustration, the woman glanced over to the right wall where a long mirror hung. In her reflection, she stared at a young, beautiful girl with long brown hair and bronze eyes. By the way she was dressed, she could tell that she was a peasant.

"Miss?" the landlord's voice asked. The girl slowly turned to him. He was standing right in front of her and the small group stood behind him. The girl crossed her arms as she peered at him. "What is your name?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know. Where am I?"

"You are in the village of The Northern Isles," the landlord answered. "You are inside an inn. Where did you come from?"

"I don't know," the girl replied, her voice shaking. She felt humiliated being asked all those questions when she couldn't even answer them. "I don't know where I'm from."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I don't know," the girl answered, shaking her head. Her eyes peered around the room before they locked back on the landlord. "I can't remember anything."

The landlord turned to the residents at the tables. "Do any of you recognize her?" The girl's heart sank as she watched them shake their heads and murmur to each other. The landlord turned and peered down at the girl before he spoke to the crowd again. "Anyone at all?"

The girl stared out into the audience with wonder as she quietly begged that there be at least one person in this place who knew her. She was desperate to find someone that she knew and could help her. She can't remember her past and the worst part was that she doesn't even know if this country was her actual home.

"What's all this?" a gruff voice boomed over the muttering residents. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the doors. "Can someone tell me what is going on?"

"Lieutenant Larson?" the landlord asked. He quickly stood straight as he spun around to him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the city?"

The small huddle all took a step back and allowed the lieutenant to stalk over to the landlord. "Last night, I took the train and left the city. Today is the prince's last day here so I had to report here before morning. Now, what is going—" When he saw the girl, he paused with a perplexed expression. "Ella? What are you doing here?"

Ella's eyes widened and she craned her head forward. "You know me?"

"Alright!" the landlord demanded. He shot a look at Ella before he fisted his hips and peered back at Lieutenant Larson while the residents muttered to each other in the background. "How do you know her?"

"Last night, I met her in the town square shortly before I left," Lieutenant Larson explained, stepping closer to Ella. "How did you end up here? You shouldn't be here already unless you took the train or a horse."

"I don't know," Ella stammered, nearly on the verge of tears. "I don't remember anything."

"She was crying out for help in the streets," one of the townspeople explained. "We brought her inside and she doesn't seem to remember anything."

"Well, when I saw her last night, she told me her name," Lieutenant Larson said. "She seemed to have her memory for she told me that she was not from The Northern Isles."

"By the looks of it, she must've been recently bewitched," an elderly man with a cane suggested. The entire room turned to him.

"Why would you say that?" the landlord asked.

"Her eyes," the elderly man answered. "They're bronze." Ella rapidly turned back to the long mirror. Her eyes were indeed bronze just like the elderly man stated. "When a witch or a wizard mind wipes someone, their eyes turn bronze as they are newly bewitched. Someone must've erased her memories shortly before she arrived here."

"That's impossible!" Lieutenant Larson denied. "There is no way that happened. There aren't any witches or wizards in this country."

"How do you know?" the elderly man asked. "You never met one. What color were her eyes when you saw her?"

"I don't know. I think brown?"

"See?" The elderly man asked. "And since you said that she remembered everything last night, she _must _have been bewitched."

Ella turned back to see that the Lieutenant and the landlord were staring right at her. In her short time here, she only learned two things about herself. She was a peasant named Ella and someone had bewitched her. But who was it and why?

"She's lucky that she didn't hit her head or anything," the elderly man said. "At least she came here before her eyes changed back to their color. If she had shown up here when her eyes changed back to her color, there would've been no proof that she was bewitched."

Ella crossed her arms while she stayed still in her seat. The old man was right that she was fortunate that she didn't have a head injury, but how would she get her memory back? How would she find out who had bewitched her? If she wasn't from this country, then what was she doing here?

Lieutenant Larson turned to the landlord and asked, "May I have a word in private?"

The landlord nodded and ordered the crowd to get back to their usual business while Ella sat in her seat, unsure of what to do next. Lieutenant Larson and the landlord went over to the center of the room and made sure that no one including Ella was paying any attention to them.

"Well, what do you think, Lieutenant?" the landlord asked, crossing his arms. "Do you think she's bewitched?"

"It appears so," the lieutenant answered. He shot a look at Ella before he turned back to the landlord.

"But remember that scam a few months ago?" the landlord asked. "It could just be another one of those and she could just be pretending so we give her food and a place to stay."

"Her eyes are bronze. You really think that?" the lieutenant asked. The landlord nodded at him and the lieutenant shrugged. "Well, it's a possibility. Do you think you can let her stay here for the night?"

"Of course not," the landlord scoffed. "She's a street rat! Plus, if I let her stay here for free, then some of the villagers would try to let me do the same for them!"

"I don't know who would take her in," the lieutenant said. "She's a beggar. How would she be able to pay for her stay?"

"So, what are you going to do with her?" asked the landlord.

"I'll put her in the stables," Lieutenant Larson declared. "She'll work there until I figure out what to do with her."

Lieutenant Larson and the landlord turned to approach Ella, but she was gone and nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Residents were coming out of their homes while the markets were beginning to open. A man in a carriage was blowing a horn and calling out about fresh fish. Ella strolled in the streets, surveying the area. For a small area, it felt more like a large, noisy cage.

Ella couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her now. Since she couldn't remember her past, it would be very difficult to find more people who knew her. How would she know if someone was lying to her? Who would help her?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard her stomach growl. She peered down at her stomach then back to the area, looking for any open markets just as an owner put an 'open' sign on a tavern. Ella strolled over to it.

Being one of the first to arrive, Ella went over to a table by the window and took a seat. She watched as several men went over to the bar and some citizens took their seats at nearby tables. As the owner went over to the table, Ella delved into her pocket but she couldn't feel any change. Of course, she should've known that she didn't have any money with her, she was an unhoused person. If she'd checked her pockets before she came into the tavern, she would not have come.

She heard the owner halt in front of her table. "What do you want, street rat?"

Ella disliked being labeled but she decided to keep a calm demeanor and turned to the owner. "Could I just have a glass of water?"

"No money, no drink," the owner denied, causing some of the citizens to turn to them.

"I'll just sit here then," Ella said.

The owner shook his head. "No money, no table." Ella slowly rose from her seat and heard the men from the bar, snickering at her. "What makes you think that I would give free service to a street rat?"

"I didn't know that I had no money," Ella admitted. She felt foolish for saying this and knew that it definitely did not sound good, but that was the truth.

"I do not allow street rats into my tavern," the owner grunted, frustration rising in his tone. He pointed to the door. "Now get out!"

Ella strolled over to the door when she fell forward on the ground. Someone from one of the nearby tables had stuck their leg out to trip her. The men at the bar and the people at the tables laughed and pointed at her. She was unharmed but she was humiliated and couldn't imagine how they thought that this was humorous.

Just then, the door opened and all of the mean laughter ended. At first, she thought that it was Lieutenant Larson until she heard a soft male voice ask for him and there was no answer. She heard footsteps coming over to her and a pair of black boots appeared in her vision.

"How did you end up on the ground?" the soft male voice asked. A white-gloved hand appeared in front of her face. "Let me help you up."

Ella slowly peered up. There was a generally good-looking, well-built male, peering down at her. He had sideburns and his red hair was chin length. His royal clothing was covered in filth and smelled of manure.

"What are you waiting for?" the young man asked. "Let me help you up, miss."

Ella slowly took his hand and allowed him to raise her to her feet. She saw that he was taller than her by several inches and noticed his green eyes looking into her own.

"Are you alright?" the young man asked. "Why were you on the ground?"

"Someone tripped me," Ella answered. "I'm alright."

"I'm sorry about that," the young man said. "At least you're not hurt. You wouldn't happen to know Lieutenant Larson? I was supposed to meet him in the stables this morning but he never showed up."

"He was in an inn the last time I saw him," Ella answered.

"Do you know which—"

"What are you doing in here?" the owner asked, rudely. "You may be royalty but you are a disgraced prince! You are the lowest of everyone, even that street rat!"

The prince appeared annoyed, but he was able to keep a calm demeanor. "I was looking for the Lieutenant, sir."

"Shouldn't this guy be in the Southern Isles?" one of the men at the bar asked. "Why is he here anyway?"

"His older brother, Prince Lars Westerguard, convinced their father to spare him a life of servitude," another one of the men at the bar explained. "So, his punishment is a year of servitude in the Southern Isles and a month here and for the rest of his life, he'll forever be known as the disgraced prince."

The doors opened behind them and Lieutenant Larson entered the tavern.

"Ah, Prince Hans," Lieutenant Larson said. "I see you found Ella. I'm sorry that I didn't meet you in the stables earlier."

"I didn't know you had a daughter, Lieutenant," Hans commented.

"Oh, she's not my daughter," Lieutenant Larson began as he went on to explain to Hans about Ella. Many questions came into Ella's head. What was this prince being punished for? Was he dangerous and should she stay away from him? What had this man done to end up here?

"Hans," Lieutenant Larson stated. "As part of your job for today, you will take her in the stables. You will show her around and help her when she needs it. This is your last day, here so you will be wise to do what you are told. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Hans said.

"Good," Lieutenant Larson said firmly, pulling out a sealed envelope from his pocket. He handed it to the Prince and said, "This is addressed to you."

Hans slowly took the envelope and a frown appeared on his face when he looked down at it. Lieutenant Larson left shortly after, leaving Ella alone with Prince Hans. Hans peered at her and gestured for her to follow him.

* * *

As Ella followed Hans deeper into the town, she was able to get a better view. In the center of town, there was a very tall clocktower with a large hedge wall behind it. They were walking on a brick path that was guarded by lanterns on each side. The townspeople passing by would snub Ella like she was some prop in a play, and glare at Hans.

Ella noticed that Hans was aware of the reactions from the townspeople, but he seemed like he was used to it. For a second, the prince almost seemed saddened before he planted on a blank mask, passing by every single person. Ella couldn't understand how Hans could put up with this and wondered if he had been treated like this in the past.

Within a short time, Hans and Ella finally arrived at a large wooden building where horses neighing could be heard nearby.

"What will I be doing in there, your highness?" Ella asked.

Hans whirled to her as his hands seized the handle on the door. "You will be feeding the horses, brushing their manes, and restocking the hay."

He pulled the door forward, revealing the inside of the stable. As they stepped inside the building, Ella saw that there were about ten horses in there and the smell was horrible. The sounds of the horses neighing and whinnying carried over the atmosphere in the room.

Ella instantly halted when she heard a low, soft sound, and glanced over to a stall right across from her. When she approached it, she smiled as she wrapped her fingers around the vertical bars. Inside the stable, a dapple-grey horse was nursing a dun-colored foal. Ella loved seeing the mother with her baby. It made her wonder what her mother was like and what kind of relationship she shared with her. Were they close? Did they have a complicated relationship? She wished that she could remember.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard soft footsteps strolling behind her.

"Reminds me of my horse, Sitron," Hans commented with a small smile. "He looks so much like him. I even almost called him that once."

Ella glanced over her shoulder to the young prince. "Which one?"

"The foal," Hans answered. Ella nodded in response before she glanced back over to the horse and her baby. "I always come in here whenever I finish my job."

The mother nuzzled her baby, bringing a smile to both Hans and Ella. Hans gestured for Ella to follow him and she obeyed. They went further into the barn, passing all of the horses on each side of the room. Ella's eyes glanced at the horses as they went past them.

"I'm sorry that someone bewitched you," Hans said. Ella turned her attention away from the horses and to the prince.

"No one knows me," Ella commented. She folded her arms when she and Hans reached the back of the room, right next to a bucket. "And I don't remember anyone."

"That is unfortunate," Hans commented. After he pointed at the bucket, Ella reached over and lifted it. The prince turned around and walked back over to the doors with Ella right behind him, carrying the large bucket. "At least you told the Lieutenant your name before you lost your memories. It could be worse."

When they returned outside, they went over to a well. Ella wrapped her fingers around the bucket. The weather was cool, much to Ella's relief. She couldn't imagine carrying this or working in the stables in that weather.

Right when Hans was about to help her fill the bucket, two men that were loading a wagon nearby, glared at the prince. "You're still here, are you?" one of them commented.

"This is my last day here, sir." Hans frowned, helping Ella lift the bucket. "Then you'll never see me again."

"That's not good enough for me," the other man scoffed.

"I can assure you, it won't be much longer," Hans sighed. "Then you'll forget that I was even here."

"But no one will forget about your crimes," the first man grunted. "You're the one who tried to kill Queen Elsa just so you can steal her crown."

Ella paused and clenched on to the railing of her bucket, staring at Hans. This man was charged with attempted murder and she was standing right next to him.

"You're a disgrace to the Southern Isles," the other man said. "You brought dishonor to the good name of the Westerguards."

Hans frowned at the two men and in a short time, he and Ella watched them load the wagon and head to the town. He gestured for Ella to follow him back to the stables, which she did. Ella could no longer feel the heavy bucket. The idea of being around an attempted murderer was frightening and uncomfortable. She hoped that the day would go by quickly so she wouldn't have to see him again.

They returned to the stables and Hans shut the door behind them. "Do you need help with anything for the moment?" he asked.

Ella shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Are you sure? That bucket is heavy."

"I'm fine," Ella replied, turning away from him. She clenched the bucket tighter as she went towards one of the stalls and away from the prince. "I don't need any help."

For the next few hours, Ella fed the horses and brushed their manes while Hans shoveled the manure. Neither of them spoke to each other, to Ella's relief. She didn't want to have anything to do with that prince and couldn't wait for him to leave when he finished his work.

It was a quiet day for Ella and she almost felt alone. Some of the citizens would come in for their horses but she was ignored. The horses kept her company and she loved caring for them, other than the smell.

When Ella finished brushing the horse's mane, she noticed that there was no more hay in the stalls and figured that it must be time to feed the horses. As she put the brush away, she didn't see any sign of Hans, not that she cared. It seemed like he had been gone for a while now. Eager to get her chores done, Ella opened the stable door and left without looking back.

* * *

Grey clouds blocked out the sun and a gust of wind made the weather colder. The hayfield was large with tall grass blowing and was devoid of everything except hay bales and a large boulder in the far right of the field. As Ella walked further into the hayfield, she felt like the area grew larger the further she walked.

As Ella bent down to pick up a bale of hay, her hands felt the coarse texture and her nose took in the sweet smell. Her legs wobbled as she picked up the heavy hay, and she exhaled when she finally held the hay closer to her chest before she returned to the stables. She repeated this process until there was one hay bale left in the field. Right when she got the last hay bale and was about to get back to the stables, a narrow plume of black smoke traveled towards the sky right behind the boulder.

With no hesitation, Ella dropped the hay and raced over to the bolder, picking up her skirts. Why was there smoke coming from behind that bolder? Was there a fire? If there was a fire, she would have to get help but first, she needed to be sure.

When Ella came to a standstill, a sharp, acrid scent stung her nostrils and a crackling sound filled her ears. She noticed that a dark shadow stretched out from behind the bolder. Ella laid her hand on the bolder and quietly strolled behind the bolder. What on earth could someone be burning at this time? Right when Ella stopped, she gasped.

Startled, Hans quickly peered up and gasped right when he saw her. His foot immediately stomped on a burning piece of paper and pressed on it until the smoke went out. He bent down and right when he was going to reach it, Ella bent down and started to approach it.

"No!" Hans hollered. Ella did what she was told and her eyes darted at the paper and then back to the prince. She noticed that one of his gloves was missing. "Stay where you are! Don't come near me!"

"What were—"

"I said stay where you are!"

Ella froze as she watched him snatch the paper from the ground and realized that it was the same letter that Lieutenant Larson had given to him earlier. While Hans tore the letter into a million pieces, he shook his head and muttered some cruises to himself.

"Why were you burning your letter?" Ella asked, rising to the ground.

Hans' green eyes glared at her as he delved something from one of his pockets and quickly slid the glove back on his right hand. He crossed his arms and a stern frown appeared on his face. "That is none of your concern, Ella. What I was doing has nothing to do with you. You have no right to be poking around in anyone else's business."

Ella's eyes peered around the area and didn't see any flints nearby. "How did you even burn the letter?"

After a second, Hans cleared his throat and stood up straighter. His eyes peered down at the ground before they peered at Ella again. "I used some matches," he explained. "They are mine and they are in my pocket. I brought them with me for emergencies but I can't let anyone else know or they will accuse me of plotting against the Northern Isles."

"Are you doing something behind the Lieutenant's back?"

"Of course not," Hans replied. "You know, I could say the same with you. What are you doing back here, anyway, Ella? Aren't you afraid of me?"

"I was restocking the hay at the stables," Ella answered. "And why would I be afraid of you, Your Highness?"

"Because of my crimes in Arendelle."

"That is not true, Your Highness," Ella denied.

"Really?" Hans asked. "Ever since we came back from the well, you've been avoiding me and refused to let me help you."

For a long minute, Ella said nothing. She was uncertain if this was because she couldn't find the right words, or if she just wanted to end the conversation and move on. It was obvious that this man—an attempted murderer—was quick to pick up on things like he was reading her mind.

Ella's eyes darted to him as she held her head high. "I am not afraid of you, Hans. I just mistrust you and want nothing to do with you."

Hans raised an eyebrow, staring her down. "Well, you'll soon get your wish. I will be leaving soon since I just finished my work and then you'll never hear from me again."

Without paying any attention to her, Hans went past her and started to make his way back to the stables to wait for Lieutenant Larson. Ella was still for a second before she went over to the last hay bale.

When Ella returned to the stables, she saw that Hans was next to the stall with the mother horse and her foal, smiling at them. She sighed because that was the last stall that needed the hay and she wanted him to be gone already. When Ella approached, Hans' smile faded and he opened the stall, ignoring the girl. Ella paid no attention to the prince and refilled the hay in the stall.

The mother and the foal approached the hay and began devouring their meal. Ella smiled and petted both of them.

The stable door opened and footsteps marched inside. Ella glanced over her shoulder to see that Lieutenant Larson was standing right in front of Hans.

"Ella, after you finish feeding the horses," Lieutenant Larson began, "grab a sponge and bucket. You will report to the courtyard and clean it up. Prince Hans, you will accompany her there."

"Yes, sir," Hans replied.

Lieutenant Larson turned and left the stables, leaving Hans and Ella alone with all of the horses. Hans allowed Ella to spend a few more minutes with the horse and foal. After Ella left the stall, Hans smiled and petted the mother and foal before leaving as well.

* * *

This late afternoon, the courtyard was busting with townspeople. The courtyard was a large area surrounded by trees and many of the buildings and a large statue lay in the center. When she and Hans reached the steps, Ella felt uneasy as the residents turned and glared at Hans. Nearby, some of the townspeople were mocking her as well.

While Hans walked down the steps, Ella sat on her knees and placed her bucket next to her. She reached into it, pulled out a brush, and began brushing the muddy steps. She heard footsteps walking past and she peered up to see Lieutenant Larson approaching Hans.

"Your highness," Lieutenant Larson began, "you have officially finished your sentence today. You have done a good job and you should thank your brother, Lars. If it hadn't been for him, you would be serving a lifetime of servitude in the Southern Isles."

Ella went back to her job, but she couldn't help overhearing their conversation. As she scrubbed harder, two women walked down the steps and chuckled at her. Her eyes dimmed and she continued to scrub the steps.

"What are you going to do with her?" Hans asked.

"There might be a shelter that would take her in," Lieutenant Larson answered. Ella felt like she had finally gotten a break. The citizens in their town seemed to have a strong dislike for beggars and now, there might be someone who would have a heart and take her in. "The landlord told me that he would pay for her if there's enough room for her. I should hear from him sometime today."

Just then a tall, rich man almost slipped on the wet ground, scaring Ella. The man was unharmed, but he glared down at Ella making her feel uneasy.

"You should watch where you're cleaning, street rat," he snapped.

"I'm sorry," Ella answered. "I didn't know you were coming."

The man rolled his eyes and turned away from her. "You are a worthless street rat. You were born a street rat and you'll die a street rat. You'll spend the rest of your life here."

The words hit Ella like a rock and tears almost formed in her eyes. She couldn't help that she was a peasant. Footsteps came over to the man.

"Excuse me, sir," Hans said. Ella sniffed as she scrubbed the steps. "You have no right to say those unkind things to her. Someone mindwiped her and she doesn't remember anything. No one knows who it was who bewitched her."

"You're preaching to me?" the rich man scoffed. "You tried to kill the Queen just to steal her crown and you're telling me how to act towards other people. You committed treason so why should I listen to you?"

"I may have committed treason, but I am still a prince," Hans spoke. By his tone and expressions, he appeared to be mirroring the rich man. "While I am still here, I will not hesitate to stop you from bringing her down."

The rich man rolled his eyes and strolled over to the two women who were poking fun at Ella. Ella scrubbed the steps as she heard Hans walk closer to her.

"Lieutenant!" a voice called.

Ella's eyes widened and, when she peered up, she saw that Lieutenant Larson, followed by Hans, was walking over to an elder landlord.

"What is it?" Lieutenant Larson asked.

"I have some bad news regarding the homeless person," the landlord answered. Ella's heart thudded and she slowly shook her head. Bad news? This couldn't be. Maybe she just misunderstood them? "The shelter is overcrowded. We will not be able to take her in."

Ella's heart thudded even faster and she quickly peered back to the ground. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She was so looking forward to a break and now her hopes were dashed. What would happen to her now?

In mere seconds, the temperature grew below zero degrees and Ella could hear the crowd muttering about something and wondered what they were fussing about.

"Snow?" a woman exclaimed. "In August?"

Ella peered up and saw what everyone was talking about. Large snowflakes were falling from the sky, covering the courtyard. She was bewildered by the sight and thought that this was impossible. Why was it snowing?

While Lieutenant Larson was ordering the citizens to return to their business, Ella decided to take his advice and peer down at the brush. When she reached for it, it slowly transformed into solid ice. Ella gasped, jerking her head back and removing her hand from the brush. Had she just done that? How was it even possible?

"Well, well, well," the rich man scoffed. The two women next to him chuckled. "It looks like the street rat isn't doing her work. How is she going to make it in this town?"

Ella's eyebrows furrowed and she rose to her feet. She threw her brush on the ground and stomped over to the trio, drawing attention from the citizens nearby. "How could you treat people like this?! Do you think I asked to be like this?!"

"That's not our problem," one of the two women snickered.

"Why don't you go back to your job, street rat?" the other woman mocked.

The trio laughed and some of the citizens joined in.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ella yelled, swinging her arm forward.

Suddenly, sharp shards shot right got out of the ground, forcing the two women to run away and the rich man to cower in fear. Ella gasped and she peered right at the crowd. Hans was awestruck while everyone else backed away in fear. Ella peered down at her hands in horror and back at the horrified crowd.

"She's evil!" a man yelled.

"She's a witch!" a woman yelled. "She's plotting to destroy us all!"

"No!" Ella stammered. She didn't even know how she released ice. Was she a witch and she didn't even remember it? "No! Not at all!"

Without warning, a sheet of ice shot out of her fingertips and hit the center of the courtyard, forcing some of the townspeople to slip and fall on the frozen ground. More of the citizens fled as solid ice layered over the ground and the temperature continued to decrease.

As Ella stepped back, she heard ice crackling, forcing her to turn around and she screamed in horror as she watched the ice layer over the steps. A large wind howled and more snowflakes fell from the sky, covering everyone.

"She's a monster!" one of the citizens yelled.

Ella's eyes darted all over as she listened to the townspeople shouting curses at her. She felt overwhelmed with everything that was transpiring around her and couldn't stay in the same area any longer. Ella raced out of the courtyard and started to dart towards the large building with the hedge behind it.

The storm died down and the snow faded away but the townspeople were still afraid and muttered insults about the girl.

"I knew it!" Lieutenant Larson growled. Hans swiftly glanced over to him with a surprised expression. "It was a scam all long. She was scheming and she had us all fooled. Lousy little street rat. She's on her own with her black magic!"

"You're not going to help her?" Hans asked. Lieutenant Larson was just to leave when Hans seized his arm. "Someone mindwiped her! How is she going to get help?"

"She could rot in the streets for all I care," Lieutenant Larson seethed. "This whole memory loss was only part of her scheme!"

Lieutenant Larson tore his arm out of Hans' grip and marched away from the area. Hans turned his attention away from the Lieutenant and peered in the direction that Ella had run off.

* * *

When Ella passed the tall building, she raced into a large hedge, ignoring the two bear trophies and trees in the area. Eventually, the hedge led to a large pond with a waterfall behind it. Ella raced over to the waterfall and started climbing up the rocks. She almost slipped a few times but she was able to push herself up.

Finally, Ella reached the top and saw that she was standing on top of a crest. The area was devoid of trees and boulders and she felt so small when she saw the ocean waves underneath the cloudy sky. She stared down at her hands in horror and slowly sat down on the ground. She buried her head in her arms and started sobbing.

Why was she able to freeze things? Why was she able to make things snow? Was she born with it, cursed with it? Was this the reason why she'd gotten bewitched in the first place?

After a few minutes, someone reached the top of the rocky steps and footsteps started to come over to her. Ella ignored them and kept sobbing. She was sure that whoever it was thought that she was a monster just like in the courtyard.

The footsteps halted and someone bent down in front of her.

"Ella?" a voice asked. Ella slowly peered up and saw that Hans was right in front of her. "Hey, it's okay."

"Go away," Ella cried, shortly before she threw her head back in her arms. "I'm dangerous!"

"That doesn't scare me," Hans said.

"Leave me alone, Hans!" Ella snapped. "Were you not there in the courtyard?! I'm a danger to the Northern Isles!"

"I saw it all happen," Hans admitted. When Ella lifted her head from her arms again, Hans took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. "Honesty, that man and those two women got what they deserved."

Ella sniffed and she took the handkerchief from him. She wiped her eyes as she and Hans rose from the ground. Her tears hung on the ends of her eyelashes as she stared at him. She was surprised that he'd come up here when he had every reason to be frightened of her. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"You're not the first person I've seen give away their ice powers," Hans chuckled. Ella handed the handkerchief back to him but he declined. "Queen Elsa sent her kingdom into an eternal winter until she learned to thaw it and, from what I've gathered, she's had those powers since birth."

"I don't know how long I had them," Ella answered. "Maybe that could be why I was bewitched?"

"Well, Ella," Hans answered. He started to wander towards the edge of the cliff. "Anything is possible."

"I'm not like them," Ella said. "They are all afraid of me because I am different."

Hans paused and glanced over to her. "I know how it feels to be feared for being different."

Ella's eyes narrowed at him. "What are you talking about?"

Hans's head slowly turned back to the ocean waves. Seagulls could be heard in a distance as the wind sighed. "When I was burning the letter," he began, removing his right glove, "I had no matches with me."

When Hans flattened his hand, a bright yellow and orange fire formed in his palm, trailing off his fingertips. Ella was speechless at the sight of the flame.

"If they knew that I was magical," Hans spoke. In an instant, the fire flame went out and his palm showed no signs of his powers, "they would be more afraid of me than they are of you."

"How long have you possessed this power?" Ella asked.

Hans glanced over his shoulder. "Since I was born," he explained. "I don't know why I have my powers, but all I know is that I am the only Westerguard with them."

As Hans slid his glove back on, Ella peered down at her hands and back at him. "Hans?" she asked. "Do you think that it's possible that I had my powers since birth like you and the Queen?"

"It's likely," Hans replied, walking over to her. "As I said, anything's possible."

Ella crossed her arms and she peered back at the Northern Isles. She knew that now that her powers had been exposed, there was no way that someone would help her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now," Ella muttered. "The entire city is frightened of me. I doubt anyone is going to help me now."

"How about I offer you a proposal?" Hans offered.

Ella's eyebrows rose. "I just met you."

"I didn't mean that," Hans chuckled. Ella narrowed her eyes and Hans's chuckle faded away. "Anyway, I will be leaving in two hours and I am offering you to come with me."

"Where are you going?"

"Since I finished serving my punishments," Hans began, "I am going to be moving to Reignlen to work for my uncle in his castle."

"How is Reignlen any different from the Northern Isles?" Ella asked.

"The country approves of magic and the homeless are treated with kindness," Hans explained. "My uncle can help you. Maybe he'll even find a place for you to stay."

Ella stood there in silence. That country sounded much better than this place, but how could she know that Hans was telling her the truth?

"Look, Ella," Hans spoke. "I understand that you mistrust me—"

"How could I trust you?" Ella snapped. She didn't mean for it to come out that way but it was the truth. "I hardly know you! You tried to kill a queen and take her kingdom! Why should I trust you?"

"Well if you can't trust me, who would you trust?" Hans snapped. "You don't know anyone in this country and you got your memories wiped. No one will help you and I doubt whoever bewitched you will come forward. I know that I've committed treason, but if you want to leave this place, you're going to have to ignore my past because I am your only chance."

As much as Ella hated to admit it, Hans had a good point. The townspeople would never help her either because of her magic or her status. Most likely both. Even if she did try to get help, everyone would refuse because they were frightened or could care any less. Hans could help her but he still could be the wrong person to help her.

"Hans?" she asked. "What if I say yes?"

"I'll take you to Reignlen," Hans answered softly. "I will take you to my uncle and he will help you."

"What if I say no?"

"Nothing," Hans answered. "I will leave and you will be left behind."

"Hans," Ella said. She decided that she must get more out of him before she would seal her fate. "If I were you and you were me, what would you do?"

"You and I are completely different people, Ella," Hans answered. "Whatever you decide, I cannot convince you to change your mind. That is your choice."

Hans began to walk towards the rocks and right when he reached Ella, he paused and they were staring at each other in the eyes.

"I know that you haven't made up your mind," he said. He pointed to the clock tower and both hands were on the four. "I will be leaving in two hours, so that will give you plenty of time to make your decision. You will need to think about it very carefully. What you decide will affect you. If you do decide to come with me, go over to the docks." He peered at her one last time before he peered back to the clock tower. "I'll give you the directions in case you're coming," he continued. "Go past that building, go straight, then turn right and go straight until you reach a two-way road in town and take the left way. This path will lead you to the docks straight ahead and my ship will be there exactly at six. If you decide not to come with me, then that is your choice. Just don't go crying that no one will help you."

It all felt like slow motion as Ella watched Hans climb down the rocks. Her heart slowly thudded at the thought of her potential fate.

* * *

Time slowly passed by as Ella sat on the ground and watched the waves hit one another with the seagulls soaring above them. Her brown hair blew in her face as the gentle and light breeze soughed. The only problem was the dilemma she was in and knew that she must make her choice.

Without a doubt, Ella never wanted to go back into that town, but she knew that she couldn't stay on this cliff forever. By now, the entire town would've heard about the incident in the courtyard. The townspeople would just back away in fear and God knew what they would do to her when they saw her.

She mistrusted Hans. He had tried to kill someone and she wanted nothing to do with him. Hans might be her ticket out of here but how would she know that it wouldn't be a scam? But there was a chance that he was being honest with her because he'd shown her his powers. Either way, the truth was that she was better off taking her chances with him than staying here.

When Ella reached the clock tower, she jumped as she heard it chime louder. She shook her head and raced over to the town. She didn't want to go through the town, but she didn't have a choice. She had to get to the docks before it would be too late.

As she followed the directions that Hans gave her, the buildings on each side grew smaller and her feet were hurting, but she kept on pushing herself. Her legs were burning and she was running out of breath.

Just as she reached the two-way road, another loud strike was made and she took the left way, racing toward the docks. Her stamina was decreasing when she saw the bow of a ship far across from her, prompting her to not slow her pace. In the far distance, she could see Hans walking forward on a gangplank and her chances of escaping the Northern Isles were decreasing by each second.

"HANS!" Ella screamed. "WAIT FOR ME!"

Hans, the captain, and the sailors turned in her direction and saw her rushing towards the docks. Hans ordered the captain not to leave yet and he raced over to her.

"Whoa, whoa," he said. "You made it just in time. Come with me, Ella."

Hans and Ella reached the dock and walked on the gangplank to the ship. Ella didn't look down at the water below her for her biggest priority was to leave the Northern Isles for good. As she reached the deck, she noticed that all of the sailors were preparing for their signal to sail away.

When Ella sat down on a barrel to catch her breath, she heard Hans give the Captain permission to set sail. As the ship began to move away from the docks and further into the sea, Ella glanced over her shoulder and back at the Northern Isles as she breathed in and out.

She still was unsure about her decision to go with Hans. At least now, she would be going to a safe place, and hopefully Hans' uncle would help her as he'd said.

"I'm surprised, Ella," Hans' voice said as footsteps came over to her and Ella glanced over to him, still breathing heavily. "I didn't expect you to show up. When I arrived at the docks, I thought that you had decided to stay. You've made a wise decision to come with me. Reignlen is a much more pleasant place than that country."

"Will you take me to your uncle?"

"You have my word," Hans assured. "When we arrive in Reignlen, I will take you to my uncle and he will help you." He started to reach into his pockets, causing Ella to raise an eyebrow. "Good thing that I decided to stop at a shop before I reached the docks."

"What did you get?" asked Ella.

Hans pulled out a pair of violet gloves and handed them to Ella. She peered down at them and then back up at him. "Look, I knew that you wouldn't be pleased about this," Hans began, "but we still need to sail to Reignlen first, and you have yet to learn to control your powers. We have to avoid sinking at sea."

Ella slowly took the gloves from him. When the captain called for Hans, he went over to him and they began a conversation. Ella stared down at her gloves for a few more minutes until she finally slid them on her hands.

* * *

**Author's Note: For those of you who haven't read "**_**A Frozen Heart",**_** Hans did not have fire powers in that book. I just added that in my story. From when I started working on this story in September 2015, it had always been the plan to have Hans be magical like Elsa. I had recently read the book over Christmas 2019 and I really liked it so much that I decided to have it be canon with this story with the idea of Hans having fire powers. **

**Just to be safe, I am going to address another major thing in this chapter in case you are confused. Hans is not aware that it's Elsa in disguise so yes, he really does think that she is a peasant named Ella. He is not pretending or anything like he did with Anna in the first Frozen film. **

**My story is also based off of the newly released young adult book from Disney Publishing, "**_**Dangerous Secrets**_**" and without giving away any spoilers, the only thing that is not canon with that book as well is obviously Arianna and Willow being Iduna's two older sisters. And yes, "Once Upon A Snowman" is also canon to my story.**

**There will also be a couple Disney characters outside of Frozen and Tangled that will also appear in this story. **


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